Something about the radio call caused Baltimore County police Chief Terrence Sheridan's ears to perk up as he drove back to his office after lunch yesterday.
Minutes later, the former state trooper was eyeing a bank robbery suspect in a Diamond Cab on York Road near Towson State University.
Sheridan radioed for help, followed the cab and assisted in the arrest, helping to halt traffic in the 6400 block of York Road about 1: 05 p.m.
"It's just a day's work," Sheridan, 53, said nonchalantly as he recounted the first arrest with which he has been involved since taking command of 1,600 sworn police officers last year.
"It's about keeping your eyes open, listening and paying attention," he said.
Sheridan, a 30-year Maryland State Police veteran, said that after hearing about the 1 p.m. robbery of a NationsBank at Washington and Pennsylvania avenues in Towson, he made a U-turn in his unmarked police cruiser on Joppa Road near police headquarters and started his hunt.
"The dispatcher said the robber came out and got into a Diamond Cab. I saw 12 cars ahead of me -- and a Diamond Cab," Sheridan said.
After maneuvering through traffic, Sheridan said, he identified the suspect based on a description and called a uniformed officer to make the arrest. He then got out of his cruiser and helped stop traffic on York Road while the arrest was under way.
"By that time, the traffic was a mess, I was late and had to leave," he said.
Charged with robbery is Wilton Britton, 39, of the 3000 block of Rayner Ave. in Baltimore City. He was being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center in lieu of $75,000 bond.
In the cab, police recovered an undisclosed sum believed to have been taken in the robbery, during which no weapon was displayed, said police spokesman Bill Toohey. He said the bank robbery was the 44th this year in the county.
Toohey said the cabdriver was questioned and released without being charged.
The cabbie, whose 5-year-old son was riding with him, picked up the suspect before the robbery and was waiting outside the bank unaware of the holdup, Toohey said.
Pub Date: 6/18/97
