Suspected bank robber leads police on chase through 3 states

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Police pursuit ends in crash on I-275 in N.Ky._20120209182218_JPG

Police pursuit ends in crash on I-275 in N.Ky. on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012.
Photographer: Bryce Anslinger
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Posted: 02/09/2012

By: Bryce Anslinger, banslinger@wcpo.com @BryceAnslinger

HEBRON, Ky. - A high-speed pursuit that spanned Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana caused a traffic headache for many people traveling on I-275 in Northern Kentucky on Thursday.

Police say the incident started after the suspect robbed two Northern Kentucky banks.

The Huntington Bank in Walton was robbed around 4 p.m. Approximately 10 minutes later, the Central Bank in Florence was held up. A teller at the Central Bank dropped a GPS device in the bag before the suspect, identified as Bernard Russell, 47, of Benton Harbor, Michigan, fled the scene.

Authorities used the GPS device to track Russell who was located on I-275 in Boone County.

"When our guys lost sight of him our dispatch center was telling us which turns he was making," said Tom Scheben, Boone County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

The pursuit, which reached speeds of 100 mph and crossed I-275, I-74 and I-75, went through Indiana, Ohio and back into Northern Kentucky. It came to end near Mineola Pike in Erlanger after police deployed stop sticks around 4:45 p.m.

Russell's white Chrysler then crashed in the median where he was taken into custody.

"Those wires slowed him up enough so that he stayed in the median instead of coming all the way across, they did what they were designed to do," said Scheben.

Police shut down both directions of the interstate for a few minutes. For the next two hours, only the right lane of eastbound I-275 was open. Traffic was also backed up on in the westbound lanes due to people slowing down to look at the scene.

All lanes have since reopened.

Stay with 9 News, WCPO.com and KyPost.com for updates.

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