Eufaula Bank Robber: Long Criminal History, Stole SUV By Beating Texas Clerk

We are learning more about the victims and the suspect in Thursday’s robbery at the Bank of Eufaula.

After shooting and killing the bank president and wounding an employee, Cedric Norris took a customer hostage.

Sources now tell News On 6 that Norris forced the woman to drive a SUV to help him in his attempted getaway.

We’ve also learned Norris was a career criminal. The SUV he was driving was stolen from Irving, Texas, earlier this week when the thief nearly beat to death the owner of the vehicle, a store clerk.

When troopers got the vehicle stopped after Thursday's bank getaway, sources say Norris began shooting immediately, and at some point, the woman got of the vehicle as well.

Investigators say Norris grabbed her and they both ended up on the ground about 20 feet from the SUV as he continued to shoot at law enforcement officers until he was killed.

Sources say the woman yelled out at some point that she was a hostage, and around 50 rounds were fired in the exchange.

Dozens of Eufaula families gathered Thursday night to pray for the victims and their families.

The Lighthouse Christian Center held a special prayer service. Many residents who knew bank president Randy Peterson came to pay their respects.

Peterson was a prominent member of the community, an active member of the school board and the Chamber of Commerce.

The church's assistant pastor says his death has shaken their small town.

"If you don't live in a small community, you don't understand how close everyone is,” Jonathan Parish said. “Small community somewhere around 3,000 people -- but we're basically a 3,000-member family."

Friends say Peterson had worked at the Bank of Eufaula for decades, working his way up to bank president.

The hostage -- Julie Huff -- is out of surgery on Friday and is expected to survive. The bank employee who was wounded is expected to survive as well.

Norris, a career criminal, was accused of robbing a Sapulpa jewelry store and was convicted in 2006. A Creek County jury sentenced him to 60 years in prison. Court records show he appealed the case and won. The appeals court sent the case back to Creek County but it's not clear why he was released from custody.

Creek County documents show Norris had a history of mental illness and physicians cited issues with paranoia, hearing voices and Schizophrenia.

At one point, Norris was prescribed eight different medications to help control his behavior. Court documents say he was not taking those medications regularly.

In an arrest affidavit, witnesses of the Sapulpa robbery described Norris as feminine, with long, painted nails, wearing jewelry and “acting strange” as he asked to see something in the store.

During Norris' time in jail he wrote several different letters to the court asking for everything from an appeal to a release of property, claiming loose diamonds, a diamond bracelet, earrings and a pack of cigarettes had nothing to do with the jewelry store crime.

Creek County District attorney Max Cook wouldn't talk with us on camera today, but he said he remembers Norris well.