Johns Creek police arrest suspected bank robber

A 52-year-old Dalton man was been arrested Dec. 15 and accused of the two daring bank robberies in early December in Alpharetta and Johns Creek.

Capt. Brian Weaver, head of Johns Creek's Criminal Investigations Division, said Jeffrey Caldwell was quickly a suspect in the case because he'd been convicted for robbing the Suntrust Bank on Haynes Bridge Road in what was then Alpharetta in 2001.

It sits directly in front of the Keyworth Bank in Johns Creek, which Caldwell is accused of robbing Dec. 9.

"It was almost the same bank," said Weaver. "He was back up to his old tricks."

Weaver said Caldwell had just gotten out of jail in February, and Johns Creek police are unsure why.

"I just don't know how this guy got out of jail," he said.

Rosemary Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Johns Creek Police Department, said Caldwell was arrested in Atlanta by that's city's police department. Weaver said Caldwell was picked up in an area known to be rife with drug users.

"He was arrested on Ponce De Leon Avenue," said Weaver. "We knew he was in the area because of his drug habit."

Weaver said Caldwell had also been arrested in 2003 for a domestic violence charge. He added it seemed little had changed in Caldwell's M.O. during his latest alleged crimes.

"He writes out a note to get the money," said Weaver. "In 2001 he said his kids were being held for ransom."

In both crimes in December, Caldwell allegedly used a note to say he had a bomb. In the Alpharetta robbery, investigators reported the suspect spoke with the bank manager about opening an account before taking nearly $3,000 from a teller by saying he had explosives and an outside accomplice.

"He always goes into the bank twice and shows his face a lot," said Weaver. "They're not rocket scientists, they're criminals."

Caldwell is in Fulton County Jail without bond charged with armed robbery and theft by receiving stolen property.
- www.northfulton.com

Sphere: Related Content