Bank robbery suspect caught this morning
City police this morning arrested 35-year-old Kevin Franklin as he walked along Route 8 just south of downtown.
Butler Police Chief Ronald Brown confirmed that Franklin was arrested about 10 a.m.
Franklin is charged with the Thursday morning robbery of the NexTier Bank at Diamond Park.
Butler City Detective Anthony Fatta earlier had said a warrant for two counts of robbery was filed against Franklin with District Judge William Fullerton.
City police officer Sgt. William Mayhugh had recognized Franklin from surveillance cameras in the bank at the time of the 9:32 a.m. robbery, Fatta said.
Then, Franklin allegedly walked into the bank and demanded money from a female clerk.
“Give me all the hundreds you have and twenties and fifties too,” Fatta said the unarmed robber demanded of the clerk.
The robber, who was given $2,260 from the teller's drawer, then fled on foot.
Officers from the city arrived soon after and were given this description of the suspect: a black man in his 30s wearing a black hooded sweat shirt with a Nike symbol on it and blue jeans.
As the search began, bank officials pulled the video surveillance from inside the bank, and officer Mayhugh reportedly recognized the suspect.
The robbery at 101 E. Diamond St., prompted a lockdown of three school buildings in the city — Butler Middle School, Emily Brittain Elementary School and Center Avenue Community School — until 11 a.m.
The bank reopened at 1:40 p.m.
Court records indicate Franklin has had brushes with the law in Butler and Allegheny counties.
Franklin, whose last known address is North Elm St., was convicted of possession of a controlled substance in Butler County in 2005; a firearms violation in Allegheny County in 2001; harassment in 2003 and aggravated assault in 2005 in Butler County Court. In 2012, he pleaded no contest to corruption of minors in Butler County Court.
Franklin also is a sexual offender listed on the state's Megan's Law website in relation to a 2015 conviction for indecent assault in Allegheny County.
He currently has charges of reckless endangerment pending in Butler County Court. Records indicate he was scheduled to be sentenced in that case Feb. 24 by county Judge Timothy McCune. However, he failed to appear.
