Two Arrested for Carnesville Bank Robbery, One Connected to Lavonia Bank Robbery

Two people from the metro Atlanta area are behind bars in Franklin County, charged in the robbery Monday of the First Citizens Bank in Carnesville.

One of the suspects also faces charges in Lavonia for the Truist Bank robbery on April 12.

“On Monday, May 2, 2022 in the afternoon hours, a lone black male entered the First Citizens Bank in Carnesville and presented a handwritten note to the bank teller demanding money,” Franklin County Sheriff Steve Thomas said Wednesday. “The black male took an undisclosed amount of U.S. Currency and fled on foot to a nearby passenger vehicle. No injuries were reported during the bank incident, but the building and exterior were closed to the general public for evidence processing by law enforcement.”

Thomas said witnesses, along with surveillance video identified a black male suspect and a get-away vehicle. The descriptions were provided to multiple regional law enforcement offices throughout Georgia and South Carolina.

Later on Monday, May 2, 2022, the Georgia State Patrol (CIU) Criminal Interdiction Unit conducted a traffic stop from the descriptions of the BOLO on Highway 129 in Jackson County, Georgia.

“The GSP 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 the driver and passenger into custody. Both their vehicle and the suspects were transported back to Franklin County,” Thomas said.

Franklin County Investigators and Lavonia Police Investigators, along with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation began their investigation into the alleged armed robberies of the First Citizens Bank in Carnesville.

On May 2, 3, and 4th, authorities began conducting interviews and collecting evidence associated with the crime.

Thomas said the investigation is expected to continue throughout the month as authorities will be executing search warrants to collect additional evidence they believe is connected with a series of bank robberies in the Southeast.

Arrested Monday were Randy Eugene Cofield, 59 of LaGrange, Georgia, and Brandy Leigh Campbell, 36 of Atlanta. Both remain at the Franklin County Detention Center.

Cofield is charged with armed robbery and Campbell is charged with being a party to a crime.

Meantime, Lavonia Police Chief Bruce Carlisle said Wednesday, that they are confident Cofield is the same man who robbed the Truist Bank in Lavonia on April 12.

“We worked very hard on this case to develop a suspect and we felt like we did have the right suspect and the investigation is continuing with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Carlisle said. “When the bank robbery occurred in Carnesville, and the lookout was put out, it was the same type of vehicle as was seen here in Lavonia. Our investigators began communicating with Franklin County investigators and when the suspect was captured it was, in fact, the person we felt strongly was the same person who committed the robbery here in Lavonia.  We have secured a warrant for armed robbery for the same suspect, Randy Cofield of LaGrange, Georgia.”

Carlisle said, however, that for the Truist Bank robbery, Cofield had a different accomplice driving the getaway vehicle, which had been parked at a neighboring retailer. Owners of the store, Carlisle said, recognized the vehicle as the one Lavonia investigators were looking for and called the police.

Carlisle said the store surveillance video showed the driver in the Truist robbery was a male subject.

“Once the vehicle was parked outside the business, the accomplice actually got out of the vehicle and went inside the business and so we have a pretty good video of him as well,” Carlisle explained. “The accomplice has not yet been identified and Mr. Cofield will not identify that accomplice for us. However, we do feel like once the evidence we have collected is processed at the crime lab it will produce his true identity and at that time he will also be charged as an accomplice to the bank robbery in Lavonia.”

Carlisle said his investigators have turned their evidence over to the FBI and it is being processed at their crime lab.

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.