Gunman fires two gunshots in credit union hold-up. Cops say they arrested him after getaway

Police have a suspect in custody after investigators say he robbed a downtown Bradenton credit union Thursday afternoon, firing two shots before fleeing with cash, according to the Bradenton Police Department.

Julian Jimenez, 18, will be charged with armed bank robbery, spokesman Lt. Brian Thiers said.

At about 3:55 p.m., police say Jimenez walked into a floridacentral Credit Union, 701 Ninth St. W., Bradenton with a small handgun and fired two rounds into the ceiling and made statements about it being a robbery, according to Thiers.

“We don’t know who made the call — a bank employee or a person inside. There was a lot of people in the bank when this happened,” Thiers said.

Jimenez then jumped over the counter, took an undisclosed amount of money and fled the scene without injuring anyone, witnesses told police. He was was said to be driving a dark green or gray Nissan Altima.

Within 30 minutes, a suspect matching the description put out in a alert to local law enforcement — later identified as Jimenez — was spotted by Manatee County Sheriff’s deputies in the 2600 block of 33rd Avenue Drive East in Bradenton, according to Thiers. Police say that Jimenez had a 9 mm handgun and a large amount of cash on him when deputies found him.

“Two witnesses from the bank were taken down there where they positively ID’d him as the suspect that had robbed the bank,” Thiers said.

The suspected vehicle was found, meanwhile, by another deputy a couple blocks away.

There were about 15 people in the credit union at the time of the robbery. At least eight calls were made to 911 from cell phones, according to the Manatee County Emergency Communication Center.

Crime scene technicians were processing the scene at the bank and the vehicle, as detectives questioned the suspect at the Bradenton Police Department headquarters Thursday evening. The Bradenton Fire Department came out to the scene to lend investigators their ladder.

Ryan Callihan contributed to this report.

This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Gunman fires two gunshots in credit union hold-up. Cops say they arrested him after getaway."