TAXICAB TAKEN IN BANK-HEIST GETAWAY

Arkansas police officer sells cycle to suspected bank robber, corrals him

Hunter Cody Chafin, 19, of Berryville
Hunter Cody Chafin, 19, of Berryville

After robbing a Eureka Springs bank Friday, the robber fled in a taxi and then used the stolen money to buy a motorcycle from a uniformed police officer in Bentonville, 40 miles to the west, authorities said.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A map showing the Eureka Springs area.

Hunter Cody Chafin, 19, of Berryville was riding away on the black Honda motorcycle when Bentonville police Cpl. Steve Vera received a telephone call about the bank robbery, according to a Bentonville police report.

Realizing he had just sold his bike to the suspect, Vera took off in his patrol car with lights flashing and the siren blaring. Vera caught up with the motorcycle, which was headed south on Walton Boulevard. Assisted by Lt. Randy Wood in a second patrol car, the two officers pulled the motorcycle over and arrested Chafin, according to the report.

The suspect had traveled about 4 miles from Vera's house before being apprehended.

Chafin left Vera's house about three minutes before the officer received the phone call, said Gene Page, a spokesman for the Bentonville Police Department.

"Had it been 10 minutes later, he probably would have been gone," Page said. "He would have been completely out of the city."

An hour earlier, Chafin reportedly had robbed the First National Bank branch in Eureka Springs of $3,350, according to an investigation by Eureka Springs police. According to the report, Chafin paid Vera $2,900 in cash for the Honda -- after talking him down $300 from the asking price -- and Chafin gave the cabdriver $150 for the trip to Bentonville.

Chafin had been in contact with Vera's son, Luke, about the motorcycle, which was for sale on a website called letgo.com, according to the Bentonville police report. When Chafin arrived to buy the bike, Cpl. Vera met him in full police uniform after completing his daily shift.

Page said he doesn't believe Chafin knew he had arranged to buy the motorcycle from a police officer but once he was at Vera's house he went through with the purchase.

Besides, the cabdriver had left him there, the report said.

Chafin remained in the Carroll County jail in Berryville late Tuesday. His bail was set at $250,000, said Tony Rogers, the Carroll County prosecutor. Chafin was arrested on a preliminary charge of aggravated robbery, but formal charges have yet to be filed.

Kindred Marnoff, a teller at the bank, told Eureka Springs police that Chafin arrived about 2 p.m. Friday and asked whether his accounts were still open. Chafin gave Marnoff his full name, Social Security number and address.

Marnoff said Chafin went outside the bank and waited for a taxi to arrive. The Eureka Springs police report said Chafin then returned and handed Marnoff a note that read "50's and 100's only! No trouble, I have a gun!"

Marnoff gave Chafin $3,350 in $50 and $100 bills, and Chafin left in the white taxi, according to the report.

Police contacted Abundant Taxi Service, which used GPS to locate the cab in Bentonville. The cabdriver didn't realize a robbery had taken place. She gave police the address where she had dropped off Chafin, which a dispatcher recognized as Vera's address.

When police arrested Chafin, they found the robbery note in his jacket pocket, according to both reports. They didn't find a gun, said Eureka Springs Police Chief Thomas Achord.

Chafin's roommate had told him to move out, according to the Eureka Springs police report. Chafin responded by telling him he was going to get a $7,000 bank loan, buy the motorcycle and move to Florida. The roommate had dropped Chafin off at the bank, apparently unaware that a robbery was about to take place, the report said.

Metro on 10/19/2016

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