Bank Robbery Suspects Flee from Long Beach to Gulfport

Friday afternoon, a bank robbery in Long Beach turned into a high speed pursuit ending in Gulfport with the capture of two suspects. The pursuit could have turned deadly when the suspects began shooting at a witness from their S.U.V.

Around 2 p.m. Friday, two Gulfport men, 28 year old, Austin Hubbard, and 28 year old, Javaris Dixon, allegedly robbed the Hancock Bank located on Beatline Road and Pineville Road in Long Beach. According to police, things took a turn for the worse after the robbery. As the suspects left the bank, a witness driving by saw what was happening and began following the suspect’s vehicle. The witness called police and gave a description of the vehicle, but when the suspects figured out what was going on, they began firing on the witness.

Thankfully, the shots didn’t hit anything and police cars soon caught up with the suspects, who led police on a high speed chase, ending in a Gulfport neighborhood. The car chase came to an end when the two suspects turned onto Bullis Avenue, a residential street that dead ends into a tree line.

Both suspects tried to make a run for it, one being apprehended immediately, the other headed into the trees, where an eyewitness describes what happened next.

An eyewitness says, “I see cops in full tactical gear running across my yard with their guns aimed at something, so I open up the screen and stick my head out and I see over there in my neighbor’s yard, there’s like five, six, I don’t know, maybe more cops pinning this guy to the ground. Some of them have their guns trained on him and the others are just pinning him down, putting the cuffs on him and he’s screaming.”

K9 units were used in the apprehension of the suspects. According to the Sun Herald, both men had to be treated for dog bites at a local hospital before being booked at the Long Beach Police Department. Both men have been transported to the Harrison County Adult Detention Center.

Hubbard was charged with one count armed robbery and one count drive by shooting and is being held on a $300,000 bond. Dixon was also charged with one count armed robbery and one count drive by shooting, along with one count felony failure to stop motor vehicle when officer signals. He is being held on a $450,000 bond.

There is no word yet on how much money the two suspects allegedly stole from the bank.