On Dec. 13, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office responded to an attempted bank robbery at Wells Fargo Bank on 107 south in Cashiers, N.C.
At 11:18 a.m., a masked Hispanic male, who spoke broken English, initiated an attempted bank robbery After he gave the teller a bag he said, “Put the money in the bag.”
Instead, the bank teller activated the burglar alarm at which point the man fled on foot without any money.
According to Sheriff Doug Farmer, based on the photos taken from the bank video, he may have been wearing a detonator device on his chest.
“You can see something metallic on his chest and a cord in his hand,” said Farmer.
After a two-week investigation, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office made an arrest.
On Dec. 29, the operation moved to River Park mobile home park in Cullowhee, where additional information and evidence was collected resulting in the arrest of Esli Hernandez Nolosco on Dec. 30 by Jackson County Deputies.
Nolasco was charged with attempted armed robbery and hoax/false bomb in a public building. He was issued an $80,000 secured bond and was placed in the custody of Jackson County Detention Center.
The Jackson County Sheriff‘s Office was assisted by the NCSBI, FBI, NC Probation/Parole, Jackson County Emergency Management, Jackson County Transit, Cullowhee Baptist Church, Cullowhee Fire Department and Harris EMS.
Sheriff Farmer would like to thank the community and all the agencies for their assistance and also recognize the Investigators for all of the hard work they put in on this case.
By Kim Lewicki, Highlands Newspaper