Bank robbery suspect arrested

Waynesboro police early this morning arrested a man suspected of robbing SunTrust bank Monday afternoon.

Stuart Henry Veney III, 29, of North Charlotte Avenue, faces charges of entering a bank while armed to commit larceny and making a bomb threat. His charges carry a possible life sentence.

Police responded to the bank before 4 p.m. Monday after a man wearing a wig entered the bank, demanded money and indicated he had a bomb. He left a black case and a note and ran out the bank’s back door toward Main Street.

He was carrying less than $1,000, Sgt. Kelly Walker said.

No bank employees or law officers were injured during the heist or investigation. No customers were in the bank during the robbery.

A Virginia State Police bomb squad detonated a small explosion inside the bank to disarm what was believed to be a bomb. It wasn’t.

Following a “non-stop” investigation that began Monday, police arrested Veney at about 2 a.m. today, without incident, Walker said. He is being held without bond at Middle River Regional Jail in Verona.

Walker said the investigation was aided by a Department of Corrections bloodhound and that a recovered robbery note was “most important.”

He also credited tipsters.

“We obviously got a lot of phone calls,” Walker said. “I just opened another envelope this morning with another tip in it.”
Trace evidence including fingerprints and DNA remains at a state crime lab and more evidence will soon be sent, Walker said.