PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — One of the two men charged in a Monday afternoon holdup of People’s Bank of Parkersburg has a long criminal history. William Hebden, 36 of Parkersburg and Bradley Oxendine, 39, of Hope Mills, North Carolina are in jail today after their arrest Monday evening in Baltimore, Maryland.
Police say Oxendine was free on bond after admitting to 32 criminal charges in ten previous bank robberies. He was awaiting sentencing.
“He is currently out on bond for several robberies in Maryland,” said Parkersburg Police Chief Joe Martin. “He was awaiting sentencing at the time of this incident.”
Oxendine and Hebden managed to get out of state, but their flight didn’t last long. Martin said the break which led to a quick arrest was a witness who was suspicious from the start.
“We stress if something looks suspicious, take some notes and call us,” said Martin. “Luckily for us, that’s what she did and that really was the key piece in getting our investigation rolling as quickly as it did.”
Oxendine and Hebden sat in their vehicle for an extended period of time watching the bank’s front door according to Martin and then made their move.
“They sat in their vehicle across the street, then exited their vehicle and went into the bank,” he said. “She saw them running out of the bank back to the vehicle and that’s when she wrote down the tag number.”
Inside the bank, Oxendine is accused of pulling a pistol and demanding money. The teller complied and the two fled. Martin said the witness was able to give a detailed description of both individuals along with the make and model of the vehicle and the tag number. The information allowed them to quickly develop Oxendine and Hebden as suspects.
Parkersburg authorities then linked up with investigators in Oxendine’s hometown of Hope Mills, North Carolina and authorities in Baltimore County , Maryland. The two were arrested in a CVS parking lot in Baltimore County about six hours after the heist in Parkersburg.
The two are awaiting extradition. Martin said he expected Hebden to be back in West Virginia very soon, but because of Oxendine’s previous charges in Baltimore, he thought it may take a while for him to be returned to West Virginia to be prosecuted.