Officers found the three suspects inside a silver Kia SUV, along with at least one gun believed to have been used in the heist, police said. They also found cash from the bank in a nearby dump truck, leading them to conclude that the suspects tossed it there as police closed in. No one was injured.
“It was a good ending,” said Officer Janelle Smith, a Montgomery County police spokeswoman.
Among the factors working against the suspects was the area in which they were traveling — an interstate just south of central Rockville — that tends to have a large police presence. Among the agencies that quickly joined the pursuit: Rockville city police, Montgomery County police, Montgomery sheriff’s office, Maryland state police and neighboring Prince George’s County — in a helicopter. The suspects also were on a road that could be contained once it was shut down, not a neighborhood with side streets.
“It was a combination of things,” Smith said.
At 10:02 a.m., police said, officers were called to the Wells Fargo bank branch along King Farm Boulevard in Rockville. They learned that two men armed with handguns had come in, demanded money and left with it. They got into the silver Kia, where a third man was waiting, and drove off.
A short time later, the Kia was spotted on southbound I-270. Officers in cars raced toward the area and shut down traffic in both ways.
At the time, Troop was trying to get to the District, where he is a senior editor at the Chronicle of Higher Education. Just south of the Montrose Road exit, “everything came to a halt,” he said.
He overheard a man in a truck next to him call out to another motorist: The police are looking for bank robbers. A short time later, about nine officers approached his car — including state police in tan uniforms, county police in dark uniforms and at least one plain-clothed officer wearing a yellow tie.
Among their commands to motorists that Troop heard:
“Stay in your car.”
“Pop the trunk.”
“Get your hands on the steering wheel. Get you hands up where we can see them.”
Meanwhile, in the air, three officers in a helicopter had arrived from Prince George’s County.
“We saw that they were searching traffic and going vehicle to vehicle,” said Cpl. Aaron Smith, the pilot.
The crew spotted the Kia, became concerned that officers on the ground had walked past it and landed the craft on an empty portion of the interstate. Smith said he then helped direct officers on the ground to the Kia. The suspects were apprehended at 10:46 a.m., according to Montgomery police.
Troop and other motorists were eventually allowed to continue driving, slowly, in the right lanes. As he did so, he said, he saw a man in a light-colored T-shirt in handcuffs in the left shoulder. The man didn’t seem to be resisting.
Police did not immediately release the suspects’ identities. They planned to charge all three in the robbery, Montgomery police said.
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