Mentor Police Arrest Suspect in Robbery at First National Bank (Updated)

Updated at 9 p.m.

Mentor Police have arrested a suspect in the robbery of the  on Center Street.

A lone man walked into the bank at 10:46 a.m. Saturday. He handed the teller a note, demanding money. The teller complied and gave him an undisclosed amount of cash.

A patrol officer responding to the robbery saw what he thought was the suspect's vehicle leaving the bank. After getting a description of the suspect, the officer believed the driver fit the description and signaled for the suspect to stop on the westbound lanes of Route 2 near the Vine Street exit.

However, the driver did not pull over. Instead, he continued driving west and officers followed him through nearby communities.

During the chase, the suspect threw evidence out of his car window, Mentor Police Lt. Ken Zbiegien said.

Wickliffe Police picked up the pursuit when the suspect exited State Route 2 onto Lloyd Road. The chase continued onto Lakeland Boulevard into Euclid where the suspect got out of his vehicle and started running.

A Wickliffe officer ran after him, followed him into a cul-de-sac on Blue Stone Parkway and arrested him.

The man police arrested was Alex Darnell Harper, 26, of Richmond Heights.

He is charged with robbery, fleeing and eluding and tampering with evidence.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning in Mentor Municipal Court.