Two men were arrested Wednesday in connection with the robbery last Friday of the State National Bank in Deming, the Deming Headlight reported.

Leon Alfred, 30, a resident of Deming, was arrested Wednesday afternoon, while a Louisiana man who has a history of bank robbery, 28-year-old Christopher Stanford, was picked up in Lordsburg and turned over to the FBI, the Headlight reported.

"Both were arrested late yesterday afternoon," FBI spokesman Darrin Jones said Thursday. "Both likely have initial appearances tomorrow (Friday) in Las Cruces."

Jones said Stanford was the man who passed a note to a teller just before 3 p.m. last Friday and made off with an undisclosed amount of money, the Headlight reported.

The FBI didn't say how Alfred, who isn't known to Deming police or the Luna County Sheriff's Office, may have been involved in the holdup, but witnesses described a man who was seen sitting outside the bank minutes before it was robbed, the paper said.

Jones told the Headlight that some of the money was recovered but wouldn't say how much or how much was originally taken.

Nor would he release the contents of the note handed to the teller, but no weapon was shown or threatened, the Headlight reported. 

The State National Bank in Deming was robbed of an undisclosed amount of money Friday afternoon, and the suspect -- described as a Hispanic male, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall with medium length brown or black hair and a full beard -- managed to elude a quick response by several law enforcement agencies, the Deming Headlight reported.

Deming police arrived on scene at 2:57 p.m. Friday, about a minute after being notified by Luna County Central Dispatch, and it wasn't long before Luna County sheriff's deputies, sheriff's reserves, New Mexico State Police and agents of the U.S. Border Patrol were on hand, the Headlight reported.

Officers blanketed the area on foot and patrol cars were dispatched in several directions, while southbound Cody Road -- the site of the bank -- was blocked for about an hour, but the suspect got away, the paper said.

Deming Police Capt. Brandon Gigante said the man, who had heavy eyebrows and was wearing a leather jacked, appeared to leave the bank on foot in a northeasterly direction, the Headlight said.

"No weapon was seen or threatened," Gigante told the Headlight.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (575) 546-7800 or Det. Lt. Mark Rudiger at the Deming Police Department, (575) 546-3011.

It was the third robbery or attempted robbery at the bank since October 2001, and the bank was robbed back in 1974 when it was operating as the United New Mexico Bank, the Headlight reported.

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