U.S. Marshals Arrest Bank Robbery Suspect

Dayton, OH - This morning, at approximately 8:30 a.m., the U.S. Marshal’s Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) coordinated the arrest of Lawrence Bell, age 29. Bell was wanted on outstanding warrants from the Springfield Police Department for Aggravated Robbery and for being a suspect in multiple bank robberies that occurred in Springfield and Reynoldsburg, Ohio in August of 2015.

Through the investigation, SOFAST officers developed information that Bell was staying at an address on McMillan Road in Marion, South Carolina. Although Bell fled the state to arrest, SOFAST Task Force Officers in Dayton reached out to their counterparts in South Carolina for assistance. The U.S. Marshals Task Force in Florence quickly responded to the request and arrested Bell without incident. Bell will remain in the Marion County Jail in South Carolina until he can be extradited back to Ohio.

U.S. Marshals SOFAST is a multi-jurisdictional task force comprised of the Dayton Police Department, Springfield Police Department, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Grandview Hospital Police Department, Miami County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Springboro Police Department and the Wright State University Police.

The U.S. Marshals Service is the nation’s primary fugitive hunting organization and captures more federal fugitives each year than all other law enforcement agencies combined.