Lexington bank robbery suspect ID’d from cell phone left behind, turns himself in

Just over an hour after police identified a man wanted in connection to a Lexington bank robbery, police announced that the suspect had turned himself in.

Lexington police identified the suspect accused of robbing a branch of Fifth Third Bank on Monday as Jonathan Richardson, 41. According to court documents, Richardson left his cell phone behind at the bank and was identified via finger prints on the phone. Richardson was also spotted on surveillance footage from the bank.

Just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, police said he was in custody.

Police said earlier Tuesday afternoon that Richardson was considered armed and dangerous and people should contact police if they located him.

The robbery took place at the Fifth Third Bank on Walden Drive near Tates Creek Road just after 10 a.m. Monday. Court records say Richardson was armed with a semi-automatic handgun and presented bank tellers a note that read “put money in bag! $100 and $50.”

At one point Richardson became irritated at how long it took tellers to get money, so he jumped over the counter and demanded employees to get money from their cash drawers while pointing the gun at employees, according to court records. Richardson got away with $4,021.50.

The scene remained active as police looked for Richardson at 11:30 a.m. at the Pinebrook Apartments, across the street from the bank branch. Around 2 p.m. officers were spotted leaving the scene. Police later said they were still looking for the suspect and the investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Lexington Police at (859) 258-3600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling (859) 253-2020, online at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com, or through the P3 tips app available at www.p3tips.com.

Herald-Leader staff writer Karla Ward contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 25, 2022 at 12:07 PM.