Suspect in Paris Road bank robbery arrested

Deputies have arrested a suspect in a bank robbery on Paris Road that occurred last month.

Boone County deputies picked Richard Welty, 44, of Columbia up from the Greene County Jail in Springfield, Missouri, Thursday morning, Boone County Sheriff’s Department Det. Tom O’Sullivan said. He was booked into the jail here Thursday afternoon, O’Sullivan said.

Welty was charged Aug. 17 with first-degree robbery on allegations that he was the getaway driver in a robbery at Central Bank of Boone County on Paris Road earlier that day.

Lt. Chris Wells with the Springfield Police Department said an officer on patrol found a vehicle with plates registered to Welty and arrested him on the Boone County warrant. Welty was arrested without incident, Wells said.

Another suspect, Randall Shaw, was accused of going into the bank, handing the clerk a note demanding money and implying he had a weapon. A probable cause statement said Shaw showed a large, police-style flashlight in his waistband during the robbery. He got away with $1,651, according to the statement.

Welty was in the Boone County Jail on Friday on $75,000 bond. His initial arraignment was set for Friday afternoon. Shaw remains at large.

Columbia police are asking for the public’s help in finding Shaw. Authorities describe him as a white man about 6 feet tall and weighing 160 pounds with hazel eyes, brown hair and a tattoo of a heart and cross on his right upper arm. Shaw’s head was shaved at the time of the robbery, police said.

The Columbia Police Department asks anyone with information about Shaw to call 573-874-7652 or CrimeStoppers at 573-875-8477 to remain anonymous.