Springfield bank robbery suspect pleads not guilty

UPDATE @ 5:15 p.m. Nov. 29

A Springfield man appeared in court Tuesday morning and pleaded not guilty to charges of robbing a bank Monday morning.

Police arrested 54-year-old Arthur Brooks, of 1675 N. Limestone St., less than two hours after the Security National Bank at 1756 N. Limestone St. reported a robbery.

Police said a man entered the bank and demanded money from the teller, and then told the bank worker that, “This is a robbery, give me $500 and don’t pull your bank strap,” according to a Springfield Police Division report.

Video surveillance led police to believe Brooks was the alleged suspect, police said.

Brooks pleaded not guilty and is booked in the Clark County Jail on a $25,000 bond, according to court records.

If convicted, Brooks could face up to three years in prison.

UPDATE @ 4:38 p.m. Nov. 28

A suspect in a robbery at Security National Bank has been arrested, Springfield Police Chief Stephen Moody said.

Arthur Edward Brooks, 54, of 1675 N. Limestone St., has been charged with one count of robbery and will be lodged in the Clark County Jail.

Police believed Brooks to be responsible after viewing surveillance video from the bank, Moody said.

UPDATE @ 3:15 p.m.

Detectives are following up with an investigation into a bank robbery on Monday morning, Springfield Police Chief Stephen Moody said.

The suspect has not yet been found, he said, after he fled Security National Bank on foot. He did not display a weapon during the robbery, Moody said.

UPDATE @ 2:15 p.m.: Police continued to search for the suspect in the bank robbery at Security National Bank.

“The good thing is everyone handled their job appropriately and everyone is OK,” Security National President John Brown said. “We’re cooperating with the police investigation at this time and they’re following up on all of their leads.”

Brown didn’t want to describe the details of the robbery, he said, so as to not interfere with the investigation.

Officers canvassed the area and used a K-9 unit in an effort to track down the robber.

“It’s always nerve racking and upsetting,” Brown said. “Fortunately the training helps and it’s nice to report that all of our folks handled things as they were trained and handled things appropriately, which should help apprehend the robber.”

An armed robbery occurred at the same bank on July 6, the Springfield News-Sun previously reported.

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UPDATE @ 10:28 a.m.

According to an official at Security National Bank, a lone man entered the bank and demanded cash from a teller.

The robber got an undetermined amount of cash and ran out heading south. He was last seen heading toward Tim Horton’s a few blocks away.

Police are canvassing the area and a K-9 unit is being used in an effort to track down the robber.

FIRST REPORT

Police in Springfield are responding to a reported robbery at Security National Bank, 1756 N. Limestone St.

The robbery was reported around 9:40 a.m.

We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.

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