By David Hedges, Publisher
www.thetimesrecord.net
Two men who allegedly helped plan a bank robbery in Arnoldsburg earlier this month have been arrested.
Beau Allen Collins, 26, of Arnoldsburg and Richard Allen Starcher, 29, of 151 Circle Ave., Spencer were arrested Sunday and charged with being an accessory to bank robbery.
Police earlier obtained a warrant charging Darin Stephen McClain, 24, of Parma, Ohio with the Dec. 5 holdup. McClain, also known as "Turtle," was supposed to come to Starcher's residence in Spencer to hide for a short while after the robbery, according to the charges.
A family member allegedly told police Starcher and McClain had been in contact for weeks, and Starcher had said he would be coming into some money and would be able to buy Christmas presents.
McClain was arrested just before midnight on Dec. 6 at his girlfriend's apartment in Akron. Police said he had a large sum of cash, 400 grams of marijuana, eight Vicodin pills and drug paraphernalia in his possession at the time.
He is being held in the Summit County Jail on drug charges while awaiting extradition to West Virginia to face the bank robbery charges. McClain has a history of arrests for drug offenses.
On the afternoon of Dec. 5, police said McClain entered the Arnoldsburg branch of Calhoun Banks and handed a teller a note demanding money. He left with approximately $16,000 in cash.
Sgt. J.E. Skidmore, commander of the State Police detachment in Grantsville, said Collins and Starcher are believed to have helped arrange the holdup.
"They planned on getting (McClain) down here to do the robbery and getting him back to Ohio afterward," Skidmore said.
The charges against Collins allege he rode in a vehicle with McClain when he went to Akron after the robbery, and he received some money from McClain.
Collins and Starcher were arrested in Arnoldsburg around 2 p.m. Sunday and arraigned by Calhoun Magistrate Rick Postalwait. Each was lodged in the Central Regional Jail in lieu of $75,000 bond while awaiting a preliminary hearing.
Skidmore said McClain left the bank in a van driven by another Arnoldsburg man, Jamie Johnson, whom he said was in his late 50s or 60s.
"He did the driving," Skidmore said, although authorities are not sure if Johnson would be charged with a crime.
"We don't know yet," Skidmore said. He said Johnson was cooperating in the investigation, which is still underway. Skidmore would not say if Collins and Starcher were in the van during the robbery.
While declining to be specific, Skidmore said a large amount of the money stolen in the bank robbery has been recovered.
Skidmore said Cpl. Doug Starcher of the Grantsville detachment is in charge of the investigation.
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