MANCHESTER – A quick-thinking off-duty officer with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department is credited with helping in the apprehension of a suspect in an armed robbery at a bank on Monday.
After watching a man wave a handgun and demand money from a teller from the drive-through window at Gardiner Savings Bank of Maine on Route 202 in Manchester, Peter Mars, the chaplain with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, and his son, David Mars, a former New York City police officer, followed the suspect for 15 miles while updating police of their whereabouts which resulted in the arrest of Jonathan Linton, 36, of Augusta.
According to Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty, Linton has an extensive criminal history including convictions of burglary, theft, assault on an officer and Class A arson for which he was sentenced to 25 years with all but 17 years in prison and six years of probation.
According to Peter Mars, at about 1:15 p.m. Monday, he was waiting at the drive-up window for his turn to transact his banking business when he witnessed the holdup.
“I observed a man, wearing a black ski mask and brandishing a black, semi-automatic type handgun, run up to an inside teller’s window. I saw him wave the gun at the teller,” Mars said. As the robbery was in progress, Mars slowly pulled his car ahead and down to the exit ramp of the bank and waited for the suspect to exit the bank.
“I saw the man run from the bank and get into a white, older model sport utility vehicle that was left with its engine running outside the bank’s front door. He jumped into the car and raced through the other exit ramp and turned right onto the driveway leading to Route 202,” he said. As he followed the suspect, Mars called 911 and reported the armed robbery
What followed was a 15-mile chase as Mars tried to keep up with the suspect’s vehicle as it sped through Manchester and onto Route 17 toward Kent’s Hill.
“As I drove, I continued to give a play-by-play to the 911 dispatcher. I am not sure as to what speeds we reached, but we were moving fast as he sped past four cars that were in front of him. Fortunately, there was no traffic coming from the opposite direction,” Mars said.
The suspect turned right onto Route 135 and raced ahead, Mars said. He was within 10-car lengths at one point but managed to see the vehicle suddenly turn into a driveway. Mars stopped his car and waited, not sure of what the suspect was going to do next.
“I stopped far enough back in case he was thinking of using his weapon. He then got back into the car and started in my direction. I turned my car around and watched as he must have thought I was leaving. He then pulled a U-turn and started back up Route 135 toward Belgrade,” he said.
The cat-and-mouse chase continued up Route 135 with Mars keeping dispatchers advised of the suspect’s location. Then he lost sight of the suspect’s SUV. On a hunch, Mars turned down Prescott Road but on seeing two sheriff’s deputy cruisers coming up realized the suspect couldn’t have gone that way. He turned his car around and arriving at the intersection of Route 135, saw the suspect’s vehicle had been stopped and Linton on the ground as Capt. Dan Davies of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department handcuffed him. Linton is charged with robbery.
In a strange twist, when Mars was told by police that the suspect he had been chasing is Jonathan Linton, he immediately recognized the name. That’s because his wife, Margery, was a teacher at Litchfield Central School when it burned down in 1993. Linton was convicted of arson in 1994 for setting the fire that destroyed the school. He was released on probation little more than one year ago after serving 15 years.
“The initial investigation reveals that Mr. Linton has had a long-term opiate addiction and as a result had a life of crime. His criminal history is extensive, he still has five years of probation remaining on a previous Arson charge,” Liberty said.
After Mars told Davies his account, he returned to the bank. Mars, of Monmouth, is a minister, a crime story author and is a veteran law enforcement officer with 30 years of experience. Included is a stint working with Liberty as the former chief of administrative services at the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department.
“Peter is longtime friend and I really appreciate his quick response and willingness to help in the apprehension of the suspect,” Liberty said. “His law enforcement training was very apparent in his ability to observe and respond to what occurred.”
