Bank Robbery Suspect in Custody

Police say the man thought to be responsible for the Tuesday robbery at Community First Bank in Seneca is in custody in North Carolina. The robbery occurred at the 123/Sheep Farm Road branch. Jimmy Watt, with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, says a warrant was issued Saturday for 53 year-old Jesse Ray Pate of Pasture Lane, Mountain Rest. Watt says, following the issuance of the warrant, Pate was arrested in Johnston County, in the Raleigh/Durham area. Officers, working with information from police in Oconee County and the National Crime Database, were able to locate Pate at a residence on Bizzell Grove Church Road in the town of Princeton. He was booked into the Johnston County Detention Center at 7:02 PM Saturday.