Bloomington bank robbery suspect apprehended
45 year-old Travis Tarrants of Spencer has been arrested for the November 15th robbery of Old National Bank on the Southside of Bloomington. Tarrants is believed to be the individual that walked into the bank on South Walnut Street just before noon on Monday, earlier this week, sowed what appeared to be a handgun, and requested that a teller fill a bag with money. The suspect, clad with a camouflaged hat and face covering, fled on foot after the incident, although responding Officers from the ISP, Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, and City of Bloomington Police Department were unable to o locate the suspect.
On November 16th, investigators were able to review surveillance camera footage from nearby businesses and one of the businesses had footage that showed the suspect park his vehicle in close proximity to the bank just prior to the robbery. The license plate on the truck was visible in the video. Investigators were therefore able to determine the identity of the owner of the vehicle.
Tarrant’s vehicle was observed traveling northbound on the SR446 near the Cutright State Recreation Area. After the he pulled into the parking lot of The Fishin’ Shedd convenience store, Investigators approached him, but Tarrant resisted and attempted to get back inside his vehicle. At one point while officers were trying to gain control of Tarrants, he grabbed an officer’s handgun and attempted to remove it from the officer’s holster. He was eventually handcuffed and secured in a patrol vehicle. A search warrant was granted for the vehicle that Tarrants had been driving and investigators located a backpack in the vehicle that contained several pieces of clothing that matched clothing being worn by the suspect at the time of the robbery as well as a black BB pistol that matched the description of the weapon displayed to the bank teller during the robbery.
Tarrants was transported to the Monroe County Jail and preliminarily charged with Armed Robbery, Attempted Disarming of a Law Enforcement Officer, and Resisting Law Enforcement Resulting in Injury.
*All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Bloomington’s Canopy of Lights set for Friday, November 26th
Santa will flip the switch once again as the Bloomington Canopy of Lights returns to transform the Monroe County Courthouse Square into a winter wonderland. This year’s event will take place Friday, November 26th from 5-8pm. The festivities will include performances by several local music groups; hot chocolate & festive snacks; sing-along Christmas songs; the dropping off of letters to Santa in the atrium of Fountain Square Mall; and of course, the once again annual lighting of the square.
Admission is free for the Canopy of Lights and the parking meters will be turned off metered parking throughout downtown from the 25-28th in celebration of the event and holiday season. The event will be by emceed by Jim Inman.
Special activities and performances:
- Monroe County History Center Holiday Open House 5-8pm:
Explore the History Center’s new holiday exhibit, play holiday games, and create holiday crafts! - The Bloomington Symphony Orchestra will perform at the Buskirk Chumley Theater at 5:30pm and again at 8pm
- Bloomington High School North Sparks Quartet will perform at the Kirkwood Avenue Stage from 5:30-6:15pm
- Charlie Jesseph will perform at the West side of The Square from 5:30-7pm
- Bloomington Chamber Singers will perform at the East side of The Square from 6-6:30pm
- The Bloomington Brass Band will perform at the East side of The Square from 6:15-6:45pm
Art dedication at Bloomington’s Switchyard Park
The City of Bloomington wil dedicate North Star/Hoosier Line Art Installations at Switchyard Park this Friday. Community members are invited to a celebration of the completion of the North Star/Hoosier Line art installations at Switchyard Park. The event will take place on Friday, November 19th, at 5pm at the Community Foundation Switchyard Plaza Spray Pad building, beside the B-Line Trail.
The sculptural installation was commissioned as part the creation of Switchyard Park. North Star/Hoosier Line was designed and fabricated by the artistic team of Tom Fansler and Rachel Kavathe of TIII Environments. This two-part artwork, installed near the park’s spray pad, is a colorful, interactive artwork for all ages that honors the rich history of the site, a former railroad switchyard, and commemorates regional community members who played a role in the Underground Railroad.
This Week in Hoosier History
1957 – Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt came to Indianapolis to visit the Flanner House. At the social service center on West 16th Street, she said, “You have to educate so people can do for themselves what they should do.” She was taken on a tour to see the nearly 200 homes built through the Flanner House self-help program.
For more local news . . .
Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson here!