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Officer Sees Bank Robbery, Helps Nab Suspects

DAMASCUS, Md. (AP) -- Montgomery County Police say an off-duty officer who was waiting in the drive-thru at a bank saw it being robbed and helped capture two suspects.

Officer William Morrison was in his cruiser, a take-home car, about 10 a.m. Thursday at M&T Bank in Damascus.

Authorities say Morrison saw the teller acting strangely and saw the robbery. Morrison drove to the front of the bank and confronted a suspect as he fled.

Officials say the suspect tried to get into a waiting car, which drove off without him. Morrison stopped that vehicle and arrested the driver.

The other suspect hid in a wooded area nearby. He was arrested after searches by officers from several agencies.

Twenty-three-year-old Benjamin Hansberger and 42-year-old John Conley Laforce, both of Frederick, have been charged with robbery.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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