SHEPHERDSTOWN – A Harpers Ferry man accused of robbing a Shepherdstown bank last Friday remained in custody Tuesday at Eastern Regional Jail, where he is being held on $500,000 bail.

Mark David Swann, 49, of Park Avenue, Harpers Ferry, was arraigned on one count of armed robbery following his arrest Monday in connection with the March 9 robbery of Jefferson Security Bank.

Shepherdstown Police Chief David Ransom Jr. said that members of the Shepherdstown Police Department, West Virginia State Police, a U.S. Marshal Service fugitive task force and the Harpers Ferry Police Department apprehended Swann at his residence, where a search warrant also was executed.

According to court records, Swann has a criminal history that includes armed robbery of a business with a gun, aggravated assault with a gun and armed robbery. The West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority’s website indicates Swann also is being held on a parole violation.

The bank robbery was dispatched at about 1:03 p.m. Friday at the Jefferson Security Bank on the corner of South Princess and East Washington streets in Shepherdstown. Officers from the Shepherdstown Police Department, Shepherd University Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, West Virginia State Police and the Harpers Ferry Police Department responded to the scene.

Shortly after police arrived, a bank employee came to the Princess Street entrance and stated that the suspect had fled on foot a few minutes earlier, records show.

The teller told police that the suspect entered the bank and walked to his window. The teller said the suspect spoke in a low voice, stating he was holding up the bank and that he had a gun. The teller complied with the robber’s demands and handed over about $3,997 in cash, records show.

Included in the cash was bait money. The suspect walked back to the Princess Street door and exited behind a customer. No weapon was brandished during the robbery, records show.

Security footage showed the suspect entering the bank from the Princess Street door at 12:58 p.m. The footage showed the suspect walking to the teller’s window before leaving through the same door he entered. He was last seen walking northeast toward Princess Street. A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit unsuccessfully tried to get a track on the suspect.

At about 4:14 p.m. Monday, a photo lineup was presented to the teller who identified Swann as the bank robber.

– Staff writer Edward Marshall can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 182, or emarshall@journal-news.net