Two Accused Bank Robbers Indicted On Federal Charges

GRAND SALINE—A federal court in Tyler has indicted two men accused of an armed robbery of Mineola Community Bank in Grand Saline on Monday.

The indictments came Wednesday against Jay Scott McEvers, 40, and Carl Ray Davis, 31, both of whom have been charged with armed bank robbery.

McEvers was arrested on a charge of possession of a controlled substance Monday night on Van Zandt County Road 2141, Grand Saline Police Chief Larry Compton said Tuesday.

Davis turned himself in to FBI agents at the Grand Saline Police Department on Tuesday afternoon, Compton confirmed.

Davis was later arrested on a state-level aggravated burglary charge. Both men were being held at the Van Zandt County Jail.

The armed robbery is believed to be associated with a telephoned bomb threat at Grand Saline High School that was called in to the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office.

"We received a call of a bomb threat at the school probably 20 to 25 minutes earlier, about 9:55 a.m., and then we got the call about the bank robbery," Compton said.

He said the two incidents were related, the bomb scare being a diversionary tactic.

Compton also said the bomb threat incident could result in additional terrorist threat charges being filed.

"That could be used to enhance the charges of armed robbery or it could be filed separately. It will be up to the FBI to decide which way they want to pursue that," he said.

The bank robbery took place about 10:20 a.m. Monday, Compton said.

"The robber was wearing a navy blue hooded, zippered sweatshirt, blue sweatpants and his face was covered with a camouflage mask. He was carrying a silver chrome-barreled handgun," Compton said.

Davis is accused of being the man entering the bank, pointing a handgun at a teller and demanding money.

An all-points bulletin described the man as approximately 5-7 or 5-8, 170 pounds.

The robber left the bank with an unknown amount of money and ran through a wooded area west of the bank, Compton said.

A manhunt effort began immediately with assistance from Van Police Department, Edgewood Police Department, Precinct 1 Constable Mickey Henson, Precinct 2 Constable C.B. Wiley and the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office.

FBI agents arrived at a command center set up near the bank shortly thereafter. Canton Police Department’s helicopter was employed to search the area from above.

Compton said it was later learned that a getaway vehicle, allegedly driven by McEvers, met the bank robber on Houston Street.

Compton praised the cooperative effort from other law enforcement agencies in setting up a perimeter throughout the downtown Grand Saline area.

"We had real good help from everyone involved…We didn’t know at that time if he was still on foot or if there was a getaway car waiting for him," the police chief said.

Compton said he could not comment on McEvers’ arrest or the circumstances surrounding it.

The incident was the second time in three years a bank in Grand Saline had been robbed, following a 2006 robbery at Citizens National Bank in which the suspect was apprehended the same day.

Compton credited the Mineola Community Bank employees on handling the situation.

"The bank employees just did an excellent job on following their standard operating procedure in the even of a robbery," he said.

Grand Saline ISD Superintendent Mark Keahey said the bomb threat call indicated that a bomb was somewhere on the high school campus.

"By the time I got to the high school, they had already evacuated the building," Keahey said. "From there, we worked with city police to scan throughout the building for anything that seemed unusual."

Keahey added that a bomb dog was brought in through a private drug dog service the school district uses.

"Once the dog and handler got here, they went through (every room in the building) before we allowed kids back in the building," he said.

The safety procedure caused teachers and students to lose about four hours of the school day, Keahey said.

"Student safety is our number one priority and we exhausted every avenue we had to ensure there was not a bomb there," he said.

Some parents called the school wanting to pick up their children and a few did so, Keahey added.