Two arrested in Carnesville bank robbery
59-year-old Randy Eugene Cofield, of LaGrange
By MJ Kneiser, WLHR
Two people are behind bars in Franklin County charged with the armed robbery of First Citizens Bank in Carnesville and the Truist Bank in Lavonia.
Franklin County Sheriff Steve Thomas said Wednesday they have arrested 59-year-old Randy Eugene Cofield of LaGrange, and 36-year-old Brandy Leigh Campbell of Atlanta.
36-year-old Brandy Leigh Campbell, of Atlanta
Thomas said on Monday afternoon, Cofield allegedly entered the First Citizens Bank in Carnesville and presented a handwritten note to the bank teller demanding money. The Sheriff said Cofield took an undisclosed amount of money and fled on foot to a nearby passenger vehicle.
No injuries were reported during the bank incident, but the building and exterior was closed to the general public for evidence processing by Law Enforcement.
Witnesses, along with surveillance video identified Cofield and a get-away vehicle, which was then provided to multiple regional broadcasts through Georgia and South Carolina.
Later Monday, the Georgia State Patrol conducted a traffic stop on Highway 129 in Jackson County from the descriptions of the BOLO.
The GSP and CIU officers were able to determine that the vehicle and occupants matched the descriptions of the armed robbery suspects in Franklin County. Officers with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office seized the suspect’s vehicle and took both driver and passenger into custody.
Franklin County Investigators and Lavonia Police Investigators, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigations began their investigation into the alleged armed robberies of the First Citizens Bank in Carnesville.
Police Chief Bruce Carlisle said Wednesday, they are confident this is the same couple that robbed the Truist Bank on April 12.
Earlier Carlisle had notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Atlanta regarding the pair who are suspected of similar bank robberies across the southeast.
Thomas said the ongoing investigation is being conducted with the support of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, The Georgia Bureau of Investigations, The Georgia State Patrol (CIU), The Lavonia Police Department, and the District Attorney’s office of the Northern Judicial Circuit.