By David Harrison, WCJB TV News (Florida)
Police say their timely information helped law agents from several agencies catch two men suspected of robbing a Northwest Gainesville bank. Gainesville worker Chrissy Seale says she was going about her daily tasks at Tower Publications and noticed two suspicious men walking around the building. “They had what looked almost like toboggan on their heads and gloves on their hands,” says Seale who told a co-worker to call police.
Seale decided to go outside and get the tag number of the car, while the men walked toward the First National Bank of Alachua. Co-worker Carie Douglas was told by dispatchers that the bank was being robbed, and to get Seale back inside.
“I was bent over getting their tag number when she yelled they were coming through the woods... And I started running to the door.”
The two men, Dustin Bracewell and John McPherson, headed down Interstate 75 where they were captured after a high speed chase. Both Seale and Douglas were taken to Marion County to identify the suspected robbers.
“We didn’t realize that we would be looking at them on the side of the road and that was scary... But they didn’t see us,” says Douglas.
Police say attentiveness helped put McPherson and Bracewell behind bars and the two are likely to be linked to other crimes across the state.
The two women say if a similar incident happens again, they’ll do the same thing over, because it’s the right thing to do.