One for the good guys -- 53rd aerial porter makes arrest

Published May 5, 2006
By Tech. Sgt. Mary Hinson
315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- When Staff Sgt. Tracy Cornett, 53rd Aerial Port Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C., headed into work the morning of Feb. 14, he thought the day would be just like any other.

Being a detective for the Lenoir Police Department in North Carolina, work occasionally had its exciting days, but Sergeant Cornett wasn’t expecting anything like what was to transpire on this fateful day.

Sergeant Cornett, who has been with the Air Force Reserve for three years, said the call came in at approximately 9:30 a.m. that a local bank had been robbed. First-time lead investigator Sergeant Cornett headed out to the scene to “gather evidence and information from the employees.”

Shortly after arriving on the scene, a call went out saying the getaway vehicle was spotted abandoned. It turned out the driver had dumped the car and hailed a cab, said Sergeant Cornett. Once the cab driver was tracked down, it didn’t take long to figure out where the suspect was.

While waiting to make the arrest, Sergeant Cornett said he kept telling himself, “What are the chances of this happening…of everything falling into line like this?”

“But I thought it was a pretty good lead,” so the police went into the motel room after the suspect, who realizing he had been caught, didn’t offer any resistance, said Sergeant Cornett. In just five and a half hours after the ordeal began, the robbery suspect was in police custody.

“It’s not typical to catch someone who robs a bank that quickly,” said Sergeant Cornett. “We were fortunate the information (we gathered) was good.”

Sergeant Cornett, who went to law enforcement school while he was still on active-duty status, said although his job can be dangerous at times, there is nothing else he would rather do.

“Sometimes when you are starting out, you think it is not worth it,” he added. “But you see the impact you make on someone…then it makes it worthwhile.”

Sergeant Cornett, who began his law enforcement career as a detention officer in 1995, said his military experiences have been beneficial to him in his civilian job, especially the discipline and attention to detail he learned.