Bank Robber nabbed near New Town
By Jerry W. Kram
A fire call produced an unexpected result for a Mountrail County Sheriff’s deputy.
Deputy Sheriff Kory Good responded to a call that came into the Sheriff’s Office about 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8. The caller said he saw what looked like flames coming from an abandoned church about 16 miles north of New Town on North Dakota Highway 1804. The caller added that he thought there still might be someone inside.
Good arrived at the church and saw and smelled smoke coming from the only open window in the old church. He looked inside and saw the wooden floor was on fire and there was a fire burning in a metal barrel. After a quick look around inside to see if he could see anyone, Good retrieved a fire extinguisher from his vehicle and tried to put out the fire. The fire had spread to the extent that Good was not able to put it out.
He then called the Mountrail County 911 Dispatch to request the New Town Fire Department come to the scene. The Fire Department arrived about 11:20 p.m. and began to put out the fire. Inside the building the found a man hiding behind some debris. Deputy Good reentered the building and escorted the man, later identified as Tracy R. Maxey, age 39, out of the building.
Maxey said he hadn’t started the fire, but had been walking along Highway 1804 and had seen the glow in the building. He said he had gone into the church to get warm. When asked why he hadn’t let the deputy know he was there, Maxey said he had been sleeping.
Good arrested Maxey and charged him with criminal mischief for starting the fire. He was taken to the Mountrail County Jail. A standard records check showed that Maxey was wanted for bank robbery in Texas.
