Martin Stolz, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
A whirlwind crime spree began with a man in an ill-fitting wig robbing a downtown Cleveland bank and ended with the robber shot and rolling around in a deep puddle, repeatedly stabbing himself with his own knife.
He survived, as did a security guard whom the robber stabbed in the men’s room of the Greyhound bus station moments after the bank robbery. The guard, bleeding profusely, collapsed after chasing the robber from the station.
Another guard caught up with the man, identified by police as George Lind, 37, and shot him.
Lind was in critical condition last night at MetroHealth Medical Center, a spokeswoman said.
Lind, whom police detained at the hospital without formally arresting him, is expected to be charged today with bank robbery and assault, either in federal court or in county court, police said.
The escapade began just before 10 a.m. Police said Lind robbed the Charter One Bank at Superior Avenue and East 12th Street, wearing a wig and flashing a knife.
He fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, said FBI spokesman Bob Hawk.
Minutes later, police said, Lind arrived at the nearby Greyhound station on Chester Avenue, off East 13th Street. Greyhound workers said Lind’s wig and peculiar behavior caught the attention of two guards from Metro Cleveland Security, an armed force hired by Greyhound Lines Inc.
The guards, Anthony Simpson, 31, and Lloyd Williams, 39, both of Cleveland, followed Lind into the men’s bathroom.
Passengers in the waiting area heard screams from inside the bathroom and saw Lind frantically dash through the station, carrying a bundle of clothes and the wig, which police said he dumped on the rim of a garbage can on Chester Avenue.
Williams gave chase, as did the heavily bleeding Simpson, who collapsed after leaving a trail of blood through the station and on the sidewalk.
“He was pure adrenaline,” said Ryan Jenkins, 18, an emergency medical technician from Nebraska, who attended Simpson while waiting for a bus to Youngstown.
Williams sprinted toward East 17th Street. He flagged down a Cleveland State University police officer, who witnesses said used his squad car to partially block Lind’s route near Payne Avenue.
Ryan Kelley, a county child-support officer taking a break outside his office, heard shouts of “Stop! Stop!”
Lind finally stopped in a big puddle that sprawled across Payne, spun around and brandished a knife with a 5-inch blade at his pursuers, Kelley said.
Williams fired one shot, hitting Lind below the waist, police said.
Upon falling in the water, Lind stabbed himself repeatedly, witnesses said.
Simpson was in stable condition at MetroHealth Medical Center last night. Simpson has worked as a guard for about a year, said Terry Zacharyj, vice president of Metro Cleveland Security.
The security company employs about 200 guards, all armed with .38 caliber handguns and deployed at about 100 fast-food restaurants, warehouses, factories and other locations throughout Greater Cleveland, Zacharyj said. He could not recall another incident in two decades where a company guard had discharged a handgun, he said.