Police arrest 2 in heist

GOOSE CREEK — Two men were arrested Tuesday after a robbery led to a manhunt and put Westview schools on lockdown for more than an hour.

Two men robbed the South Carolina Federal Credit Union, on St. James Avenue near Crowfield Boulevard, earlier Tuesday, said Dan Moon, Berkeley County sheriff's spokesman.

Westview Elementary, Primary and Middle schools were locked down as a precaution as authorities quickly took one suspect into custody and began a search for a second man in a wooded area between Windsor Place apartments and the schools.

In the woods off Spring Hall Drive, Berkeley deputies with search dogs found several items. "They found the cash, they found the mask and they found the gun that was used," Moon said.

A second suspect was located in an apartment at the Windsor Place complex, Moon said. Two men are charged with armed robbery and were at Hill-Finklea Detention Facility late Tuesday awaiting a bond hearing.

Their names were available, but authorities would not provide ages and addresses.

In an unrelated robbery about 1 p.m. in Summerville, a man armed with a handgun demanded cash at the National Bank of South Carolina on Main Street.

Numerous employees and customers were inside the bank, but no one was injured, said Summerville police Capt. Jon Rogers.

The robber was described as white, age 40 to 45, 6 feet tall with a stocky build. He wore a light-colored golf shirt, blue jeans, black shoes and a black-and-red baseball cap.

Reach Nadine Parks at 937-5573 or nparks@postandcourier.com.