LEXINGTON, N.C. — Deputies in Davidson County arrested the man they said tried to rob a bank Tuesday before leading police on a chase into Rowan County and escaping on foot.
Officials said Randy Asbury, 61, was captured around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday during a traffic stop in Lexington, North Carolina.
Asbury was wanted on a warrant for attempting to rob the New Bridge Bank on Tuesday in Lexington. In addition to robbery with a dangerous weapon, he was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle and misdemeanor larceny.
Authorities chased Asbury in Rowan County before he crashed his vehicle and ran off Tuesday. Asbury eluded police until his capture Wednesday night.
Asbury, who was in court Thursday, told officers he managed to elude police by finding a good hiding place, authorities said.
“He found thick foliage, vegetation and he just crawled under the vegetation and we just walked all around him, the dogs walked all around him. We stayed there all day, he stayed in the underbrush,” Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said.
Asbury was also wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service on a federal warrant for escape. He was placed into the Davidson County Detention Center under a $500,000 secure bond for the Davidson County charges and under no bond for the federal warrant.
Court records stated he took more than $1,200 and threatened the clerk with a knife.
Detectives said later Asbury admitted he did it because he's terminally ill with cancer. He also said he wanted to get high on crack cocaine.
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“He said he wasn't running so much to get away, but just to get the opportunity to use his drugs,” Grice said.
Police said once the coast was clear Tuesday night he crawled out of his hiding place in the woods and made his way back to Lexington.
They said he was spotted riding as a passenger in a family member's car and someone called 911.
Officers said Asbury was in East Spencer because he knows people in the area. He could face more than 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Asbury’s first court date will be Aug. 17.
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