Police say an Ocala woman who was detained during a traffic check on Saturday is suspected of robbing a bank just minutes before.
According to a news release from the Ocala Police Department, 40-year-old Christina Gates Thagard is charged with robbery with a handgun.
Police arrived at the TD Bank on SE 17th Street at around 9:30 a.m. that day after a suspect, who was captured on camera wearing a hoodie, sunglasses, a medical mask, and a glove on one hand, handed a note to a teller requesting at least $50,000 in “big bills.” The note also said, “I have a gun and will shoot if any alarms or dye packs are inclosed (sic),” according to investigators.
Approximately $5,000 was taken by the suspect, but by the time police reached the bank, they had left.
According to the statement, authorities found the suspect, Thagard, heading west on SW College Road in 11 minutes. According to the police department’s dashcam footage, Thagard was arrested, taken to police headquarters for interrogation, and then taken to the Marion County Jail, according to the release.
Police claimed they searched the car Thagard was driving and discovered a latex glove, a surgical mask, and a purse containing $5,015.
According to police, they haven’t found a gun yet.
