Police: Suspected Ormond Beach bank robber arrested

Man robbed Suntrust Bank, police say

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – A man accused of robbing an Ormond Beach bank Saturday morning was arrested Sunday, police said.

Police said the man walked into the Suntrust Bank on North Nova Road at 10:15 a.m. and passed a note to the teller demanding money. 

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Once the man received the money, he ran out the front door and toward the back of the bank, police said.

Officers and deputies in the Volusia County Sheriff's Office helicopter searched nearby for the robber, but were unable to find him, Ormond Beach police said.

Ormond Beach police said that during the search someone reported that a Jeep was being driven recklessly nearby.

Police later found the Jeep abandoned behind a Trustco Bank. The license, which had been taken off of the vehicle but was found in the front seat, was registered to a woman who told police that her boyfriend, Joseph Blankenbeckley, 34, had taken the Jeep early Saturday, police said.

Officers said Blankenbeckley was later identified as the man in the Suntrust Bank robbery surveillance video .

Holly Hill police received a tip Sunday morning that Blankenbeckley was at the Rollies Motor Motel on Ridgewood Avenue, Ormond Beach police said. Blankenbeckley was arrested by Holly Hill officers, who turned him over to Ormond Beach police.

Blankenbeckley is facing one charge of robbery without a firearm, police said.