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12:50 PM: Man Linked To Bank Robbery Nabbed In Kwik Fill Hold Up

Albert L. Chapman

A Jamestown man police say robbed a bank earlier in the day was nabbed after he attempted to hold up a Kwik Fill location late Thursday.

Charged was 34-year-old Albert L. Chapman after officers with the Jamestown Police Department received word of a robbery at the 342 Forest Ave. convenience store. Chapman entered the Kwik Fill around 11:35 p.m. and reportedly held a clerk at knifepoint, demanding cash from the register.

The city man fled the store without money and was located by officers shortly thereafter.

An investigation by Ellicott and Jamestown police linked Chapman to the robbery earlier Thursday at Community Bank NA in Ellicott. Police said Chapman entered the East Main Street branch shortly before noon and handed the teller a note. Chapman did not display a weapon in the robbery and left with an undisclosed amount of money.

Capt. Robert Samuelson of the Jamestown Police Department said quality of surveilence video helped police identify Chapman early on in its investigation. He noted that authorities were actively searching for Chapman when he robbed the Kwik Fill

Police were looking for a man who reportedly robbed a Falconer bank on East Main Street shortly before noon Thursday. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

Samuelson said the robberies are likely linked to drug addiction.

“It’s about crystal methamphetamine,” Samuelson told The Post-Journal. “It’s the direct byproduct of the issues that we are currently facing. People are trying to get money for drugs.”

On Friday, police also announced they were looking for the driver of a dark-colored sport utility vehicle involved in the Ellicott bank robbery. Samuelson said police were hoping to talk to the driver of the SUV who transported Chapman to and from the bank before heading to a location in Jamestown.

“At this time we’re hoping to talk to them,” he said.

Following his arrest, Chapman was charged with first- and third-degree robbery and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was transported to Jamestown City Jail and held pending arraignment in City Court.

Chapman was sentenced in June 2013 to 2-4 years in state prison for first-degree criminal contempt.

Anyone with information regarding the robbery is asked to contact Ellicott police at 665-7083 or through the anonymous tip line of the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force at 483-8477. Information also can be sent through JPD’s Tips 411 cellphone app.

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