Details released

in robbery case
By Melanie Davis
melanie@mountaintimes.com

Court documents filed Tuesday morning in the Watauga County clerk's office have made public a few more details in the armed robbery of the High Country Bank in Foscoe.

The bank was robbed at gunpoint by a man on Wednesday, July 9, at approximately 1:50 p.m. Witness statements indicated the man fled in a burgundy car driven by a woman.

Watauga County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Dee Dee Rominger said officers from the sheriff’s office, Avery County Sheriff’s Office, Blowing Rock Police Department, Boone Police Department, Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, N.C. Highway Patrol, U.S. park rangers, Seven Devils Police Department and Sugar Mountain Police Department saturated the area, but were unable to immediately locate the suspects.

The surveillance equipment within the bank captured images of the suspects. They are alleged to have walked into the branch an estimated two hours prior to the robbery.

According to court documents, an anonymous Crimestoppers tip, in addition to two other callers, identified those in the images as Jason Bigelow, 25, and Anna Bridges, 22, both of 118 Alpine Acres Apartment 1, Vilas.

Subsequent investigation lead to a search warrant issued Thursday for Bigelow’s and Bridges' address. Among the items seized from the residence were a peach-colored sundress matching the description given by witnesses, a large gray-and-blue long-sleeve shirt with one of the sleeves cut off, and partially burnt items from the wood stove in the living room were recovered, along with eight High Country Bank pamphlets.

Following the execution of the search warrant, Bigelow and Bridges surrendered themselves to Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman at the sheriff's office at 8:45 p.m. Friday.

Felony warrants for armed robbery with a dangerous weapon were served.

The arrest reports list the amount of money stolen as “more than ten thousand dollars.” An exact amount has not yet been released. The search warrant does not indicate the recovery of a handgun at the residence.

Bigelow and Bridges remain in the Watauga County Detention Center as of Tuesday afternoon. Bond for each was set as $25,000, divided into both secured and unsecured amounts of $12,500. They are scheduled to appear in district court on Aug. 13. Both have waived court-appointed counsel and have retained local attorney Tom Speed.

Hagaman said that he was “very pleased with the effort, energy, use of resources, and the many hours that law enforcement officers put into the investigation of this armed bank robbery. Law enforcement agencies from Watauga County, Avery County, Randolph County, Horry County, S.C., Florida and the federal government were instrumental in the investigation. Many hours were spent interviewing witnesses, preparing composite sketches, reviewing surveillance video and searching for the suspects.”

“In addition, the officers and staff of the Watauga County 911 Communication Center and the Watauga County Detention Center, provided important coordination and critical assistance as a part of this investigation,” he said.