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Police capture man who robbed Farmer’s National Bank

LISBON — A local man was charged with robbery Thursday after demanding money from a teller at the Farmer’s National Bank in Lisbon an hour earlier

Lisbon Police Chief Mike Abraham said a man believed to have been Michael Foster Lewis, 34, Caldwell Avenue, walked into the bank at 3:36 p.m. Thursday wearing a white or light gray hoodie covering his face. A bank employee told the man he had to put it down and he complied before handing the teller a note which read: “This is a robbery. I want money now. I have a bomb.”

The bank employees gave him $150 and he left the bank. No bomb was found.

Abraham said the bank provided a description of the robber and his outfit, which matched the same clothes Abraham saw Lewis wearing between noon and 1 p.m., when he dealt with him earlier in the day.

County sheriff’s deputies joined Lisbon police in searching for Lewis, who saw a deputy’s cruiser while he was walking south on Washington Avenue. Lewis took off running toward the creek and Abraham said he attempted to hide the theft from authorities by burying the money in the mud.

Lewis was taken into custody at 4:27 p.m. and transported to the county jail. He is scheduled to appear for video arraignment in Columbiana County Municipal Court this morning.

“I would like to thank the Columbiana County sheriff’s office and their deputies for going the extra mile and assisting us,” Abraham said.

Lewis has already been in trouble with the law earlier this week. He was charged with disorderly conduct after getting into a fight with Shawn R. Haines in the Save A Lot parking lot on Monday night. He was also upset about his girlfriend and intoxicated in the Save A Lot parking lot last Friday evening, the same day he was charged with theft for allegedly taking a Hostess cupcake from Smith Oil.

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