LaGRANGE —Two men are behind bars in the Troup County Jail accused of robbing the Community Bank and Trust at 2092 West Point Road Friday afternoon.

Marcus Ward, of Atlanta, and William Everette, of Louisville, Kentucky, were taken into custody by the Hogansville Police Department around 3 p.m. Friday after their car was reportedly spotted in the northbound lanes of Interstate 85.

One of the suspects, believed to be Everette, allegedly walked into the Community Bank and Trust just after 2 p.m. and asked an employee about opening an account, stated investigators with the LaGrange Police Department.

After speaking with the employee for a few minutes, the suspect allegedly pulled out a handgun and forced the person to the floor, investigators stated. The gunman made his way to the teller line and robbed the bank of an undisclosed amount of cash, LPD officials said.

The suspect then ran out the back of the building.

After speaking with bank employees, LaGrange police issued a BOLO for the suspect who was described as a middle-aged, African-American male wearing a black and white striped shirt, dark pants, sunglasses and a hat, said investigators.

LPD detectives determined the suspect in Friday’s bank robbery was likely the same suspect in a similar incident at the CBT bank in Hogansville on Monday afternoon.

A witness in that robbery spotted the gunman jumping into a car with another man inside it, stated police.

That information was passed on to law enforcement agencies, including officials with the HPD, who spotted the car and pulled it over on I-85 near the Hogansville exit.

Investigators from LPD said the passenger in the vehicle, Everette, was responsible for the robbery at the Community Bank and Trust branch, officials stated. Detectives also reportedly seized evidence of the crime from inside the car, according to police.

Everette was arrested and charged with one count of armed robbery, four counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

The alleged driver of the car, Ward, was also taken into custody and charged with one count of armed robbery.

Earlier on Friday, Hogansville Police Chief Brian Harr told the LaGrange Daily News the suspect in the CBT bank may also be responsible for a string of robberies around metro Atlanta.

HPD investigators were working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to identify and catch the suspects, stated Harr.

Individuals with information about either incident are asked to contact the LPD at 706-883-2603 or Detective Marcus Rakestraw with the HPD at 706-637-6648. They can also call Troup County Crime Stoppers at 706-812-1000. Callers may remain anonymous.