| July 19,
2002 |
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| Arrests
Made in 2001 Bank Robbery |
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Elio Exposito |
Antonio Martinez-Porta |
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| Two men are in federal custody in Florida,
accused of going on a bank robbing spree which included
last year's holdup of the
First Union National Bank in Rutherford College. |
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| Elio Exposito, 39, of 238 Polk Place in Naples,
Florida; and Antonio Martinez-Porta, 26, of 460 9th Street SW, Hickory are
facing Burke County charges for one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon,
two counts of second degree kidnaping, and one count of auto larceny in the
November 28th, 2001 holdup. |
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| According to Burke County Sheriff's Office
detectives, the two men walked into the First Union National Bank in Rutherford
College around 10:27 a.m. and produced firearms. One robber went behind the
teller counter and demanded money while the other robber checked offices and
bathrooms for customers and employees, then stood guard at the exits. |
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| Investigators say the men were rough with the
tellers, using profanity and physically "jerking them around." |
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| The robbers took an undisclosed amount of money
and left the bank in a vehicle owned by one of the tellers. Deputies reportedly
arrived within one minute after the robbery was reported. |
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| Minutes later, the vehicle was located behind a
convenience store less than a mile away, but the robbers had already fled the
area, presumably in another getaway vehicle they had left near the store. |
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| "The persistence by our detectives and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation finally paid off," said Burke County Sheriff
John T. McDevitt. "They have worked tirelessly for eight months on this case,
and I'm pleased to see these men behind bars." |
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| McDevitt said Exposito and Martinez-Porta are
alleged to have robbed several banks throughout the south and eastern parts of
the United States. |
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| "It was an extremely scary situation for the
bank tellers at the Rutherford College branch," McDevitt said. I hope
justice will prevail and these men will one day know the anguish their actions
caused. The tellers were pretty shaken up" |
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| Exposito and Martinez-Porta remain in custody in
Florida. McDevitt said his office will have Florida hold the men in
custody while they await disposition of federal bank robbery charges. |
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