Suspect's mom gets caught in robbery arrest

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — Police and deputies tracked down a bank robbery suspect Tuesday, and his mother got caught in the middle.

The robbery happened at the Cherokee Bank on Highway 92 in Woodstock. Police believe their suspect picked up his mother sometime afterward, and they were just blocks away from their west Cherokee County home when the law caught up with them.

Deputies spotted a Ford and pulled it over on Kellogg Creek Road, detaining their suspect, along with his mother. Chase Gates, 27, was arrested, but his mother was later released.

Back at the bank, employees were forced to close their doors for the second day in recent weeks over a robbery. Police believe it's an attractive location for thieves because of its location near Interstate 575.

In December, two thieves carjacked a getaway car from a nearby store, then barged into the bank. One robber was armed with a handgun, but detectives said the pair was outsmarted by a teller.

"The teller basically told him that she doesn't have any money for him, and he jumped back and fled the scene. He actually dropped the book bag he had to carry his money in," Woodstock police Sgt. John Stillman told Channel 2's Ross Cavitt.

With police in two counties looking for the getaway car, troopers spotted it on Interstate 75 heading into Atlanta. The suspects were arrested in neighboring Cobb County.