Ravenna man followed robbers from bank

RAVENNA, Mich. (WOOD) - Long-time customer Tim Hendges pulled up to the drive-through window of the ChoiceOne bank branch in Ravenna Thursday when he spotted several things that simply did not seem normal.

"When I saw the two guys with hooded jackets on a nice day inside the bank, it just didn't look right. And then there were no girls -- the girls weren't there at the [teller] windows. So something wasn't right. And then I saw the weapon, then I knew everything was bad," Hendges said.

He had just witnessed the robbery that was the first piece of a chain of events that ended with the death of a Walker police officer.

But Hendges decided to follow the men who left the bank, getting what information he could from the license plate and eventually going to the local hardware store were someone was able to call 911.

That weapon he saw may have been shown during the robbery itself. Muskegon County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Tague said at least one long-gun was shown during the heist, but no shots were fired at the bank and no one there was hurt.

Investigators said four employees were in the bank when the two robbers entered wearing masks, gloves and black clothing. The two held some of the people inside hostage and forced others to open the vault, they said. Money was taken from the vault and from teller windows.

Asked why he was willing to put himself in potential danger by following the men, Hendges said "I don't have an answer for that. I just got mad. They're my friends in the bank. I've known them for years."