Judge denies bail for man accused in three Anderson bank robberies this week
Nikie MayoA judge denied bail Thursday evening for Lamont Taylor, the Anderson man who is accused of robbing or attempting to rob three banks in the city in the span of two days this week.
Chief Municipal Judge Josh Allen said Taylor's short time of residency in the city is one of the reasons he decided to deny bail. Taylor told the judge that he had lived at Edgewood Apartments in Anderson only 16 or 17 months, and that prior to then, he lived in Ohio. Taylor is also wanted in California for a probation violation, according to police.
Taylor said "Yes sir" and "no sir" to the judge and asked to have a court-appointed lawyer. Beyond that, he said little.
Much of the time, he sat with his head bowed and covered his face with his hands.
He appeared to walk with a limp and stood and sat slowly as he was addressed in court. It's not clear if he has a medical issue or if he was simply struggling with the chain around his ankle. He did spend several hours at AnMed Health Medical Center after he was captured.
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Taylor was caught Wednesday morning after police conducted surveillance on his apartment complex and then spotted the car he was driving in a Homeland Park neighborhood.
When they attempted to stop the car, a chase ensued, and Taylor crashed his tan Buick Lacrosse at the corner of Bleckley Street and Murray Avenue.
Taylor got a total of $1,575 in the robberies, according to arrest warrants.
The first bank robbery in Anderson happened around 10 a.m. Monday, when a man came into the South State Bank on Greenville Street downtown and presented a teller with a threatening note that included a demand for money. According to an arrest warrant, Taylor threatened a teller with death and got away with $680.
On Tuesday, police were called to two more bank robberies that happened less than 10 minutes apart. Those occurred at SunTrust Bank on Liberty Highway and at TD Bank on North Main Street, near Carlee's and Tony's restaurant. The first one, at SunTrust, happened around 12:45 p.m., and the second one happened at 12:54 p.m. According to arrest warrants, Taylor stole $895 from TD Bank, but actually left SunTrust bank without taking any cash.
In those cases, Aikens said, the robber had also presented tellers with a note demanding money. Each time, the robber took the note back before he left the bank.
A note and clothing matching the items the robber used were recovered from the crashed Lacrosse.
Detective Brad Whitfield, the lead investigator on the case, said Thursday after court that he couldn't recall any time in recent memory when police have dealt with a man accused of multiple bank robberies in the city.
