BOWLING GREEN — A man suspected of being “the potbellied bandit” was charged Wednesday with robbing a bank here.

        He was arrested Tuesday after a chase on Interstate 65. Police say he is a suspect in at least 21 bank robberies in Kentucky and six other states.

        Bowling Green police arrested Douglas Lee Poling, 52, of Newport, Mich., after a 20-mile chase that reached speeds up to 100 mph.

        The FBI is investigating Mr. Poling in connection with more than a score of robberies, including two in Fort Wright and one in Florence, between March and July.

        Police began pursuing Mr. Poling after a Bowling Green bank was robbed about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday by a man matching the “potbellied” description. A Bowling Green police officer near the bank saw a vehicle matching the description of the get-away vehicle and began the chase on I-65.

        Police stopped Mr. Poling near the Kentucky-Tennessee border, about 20 miles away. No one was injured in the chase.

        The potbellied bandit got his name because of his ample waistline. Mr. Poling is 5-feet, 11-inches tall and 260 pounds. He is being investigated in connection with the March 22 and July 9 robberies of the Fort Wright branch of Peoples Bank of Northern Kentucky and the April 12 robbery of a Florence branch of Fifth Third Bank.

        FBI Special Agent Doug Warner, a bank robbery specialist, has said in each case the teller is handed a note demanding money, the robber never displays a gun, never leaves the note behind and does not cover his face.

        The robberies began March 1 in Tennessee and involved at least 20 other banks in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and South Carolina.

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