Man indicted for robbing Corbin bank arrested in connection with Knoxville bank robbery

The man police say robbed a Corbin bank on Nov. 27 is now in custody in Tennessee in connection with another bank robbery in Knoxville last Friday.

Corbin Police Lt. Coy Wilson, the department’s public affairs officer, said FBI agents in Tennessee arrested Timothy Michael Sample, 55, of Corbin, in connection with the robbery of UT Federal Credit Union on Kingston Pike.

The robber, later identified as Sample, was able to flee the scene. However, law enforcement was able to broadcast a description of the robber, which led to multiple tips from the public after he was seen hitchhiking Saturday along John Sevier Highway in Knoxville.

Wilson said paperwork has been filed on Sample to have him returned to Whitley County where he was indicted in connection with the robbery of Hometown Bank of Corbin.

Sample faces charges of first-degree robbery, theft by unlawful taking of the value of $10,000 or more but less than $1 million, and theft by unlawful taking of the value of $500 or more but less than $10,000.

Police say Sample entered the bank on Cumberland Falls Highway near Fifth Street Road, pointed a semi-automatic handgun at a teller and demanded money.

The robber then fled the scene in a 2013 Chrysler 200.

Based on the license plate, police learned the vehicle had been reported stolen. The owner stated that Sample had borrowed the vehicle and failed to return it, leading her to report it stolen.

Knoxville Police notified Corbin Police on Nov. 30 after the car was found abandoned in a residential neighborhood.

Corbin Police Lt. Coy Wilson said previously that Sample might have been headed in that direction as he had ties to Tennessee and North Carolina. Sample has previously served prison time in each state for robbery.

The theft over $10,000 charge stems from taking the 2013 Chrysler 200 automobile that belonged to Mavis Benge, according to the indictment.

The robbery and other theft charge stem from the taking of $2,877 from the bank, according to the indictment.

Under Kentucky law, first-degree robbery is a class “B” felony, carrying a potential prison sentence of 10 to 20 years.