by Stephanie Croston

    A 51-year-old Hebron man was arrested Jan. 3 for robbing Jones National Bank and Trust Company in Seward.
     About 4:50 p.m., Ray Mason demanded money from the drive-through clerk and was insistent when she turned to look at a fellow employee.
     "He said he had done this before," Seward County Sheriff Joe Yocum said Jan. 4.
     The drive-through alarm was activated, and the Seward County Communications Center notified both the sheriff's office and Seward Police Department. Shortly after, a 911 call was received from Jones Bank reporting a robbery in progress.
     The clerk gave Mason an undisclosed amount of money, and Mason turned north out of the driveway.
     According to a press release from Jones Bank, the staff followed the bank's procedures.
     "The Jones National Bank and Trust Company wants to reassure the public that employee and customer safety comes first in these types of situations," the release said. "The Jones National Bank and Trust Company appreciates the quick response received from both law enforcement departments."
     Mike Hecker, executive vice president of operations at Jones Bank, said bank employees routinely undergo training for situations like this.
     After the vehicle left the drive-through, officers were not certain of its direction of travel. One sheriff's deputy went south to the interstate and another headed north on Highway 15, while Pat Dorcey of the SPD covered the west side of town.
     Yocum said Chief Deputy Dan Hejl was on his way home and happened to see the suspect vehicle, a 1985 Ford conversion van, traveling north on Matzke Highway and approaching the Highway 34 intersection. Yocum said Mason must have gone south on South Columbia and driven on country roads before returning to pavement.
     Hejl followed Mason east on Highway 34 and, after Sgt. Dave Wood and Yocum had arrived for back-up, pulled Mason over near 154th Road.
     "It was a felony stop," Yocum said. "He (Mason) kept saying, 'Don't shoot.'"
     Officers learned that Mason is a paraplegic and found a wheelchair in the back of the van. Hejl transported Mason to the Seward County Jail, where he was housed overnight.
     The arrest was made at 5:20 p.m.
     Yocum said Mason had committed a past robbery in Thayer County in which he entered the bank in his wheelchair, brandished a knife and demanded money. No weapons were evident in the Jones Bank robbery.
     Yocum said Mason would be transferred to the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center in Lincoln, which is equipped to house handicapped suspects.
     Yocum praised the bank employees for their description of Mason, which matched exactly. The description of the van and its license number were supplied by the driver of the vehicle behind the van in the drive-through.
     "No one was hurt, there was no property damage and the money was recovered," Yocum said.
     Seward Police Chief Alan Baldwin said the quick response time by the SPD and sheriff's department was crucial. He also praised the bank employees.
     "The reaction by the employees of the bank is to be commended," he said.
     He said representatives of the FBI interviewed Mason Jan. 3, a typical procedure with bank robberies.
     Yocum expected the FBI to file charges because of Mason's prior robbery conviction.