Suspect in 2005 bank robbery apprehended
A man wanted in an armed bank robbery in Cape Coral five years ago was located Thursday by authorities and taken into custody.
Amos Joseph, 28, of 4523 Ohio Ave., Fort Myers, was being held at the Lee County Jail on no bond Friday. He was picked up on a warrant for one count of robbery with a firearm, according to booking records. The charge is a felony.
The U.S. Marshal’s Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force received information that Joseph was seen in the Tice area of Fort Myers. Undercover surveillance was conducted and the task force positively identified Joseph, who then was arrested and charged without incident.
Connie Barron, spokeswoman for the Cape police, reported that Joseph was sought in connection to the bank robbery at the SunTrust, at 1533 Coronado Parkway, on June 27, 2005. Two men, one armed, robbed the bank and fled with a bag filled with some money, including “bait” money with a dye pack.
Police later located the bag, along with scattered cash and the exploded dye pack, in the 1400 block of Southwest 47th Terrace. The bank employees said the men had white T-shirts wrapped around their head, obscuring their faces.
They also recalled two men acting suspiciously in the bank a few weeks before.
The bank agreed to research its records and contact detectives, Barron reported. The next day the bank provided police with the name of one of the men. He had opened an account. Detectives made contact with the man, who reported that Joseph was with him when he opened the SunTrust account.
The man also allegedly stated that Joseph had remarked to him how easy it would be to rob that bank branch. He denied any involvement in the robbery.
Detectives secured a warrant for Joseph’s arrest, but he had fled the area.
According to Barron, the two men entered the bank and ordered all of the employees and customers to lay on the ground face down. One man carried a handgun and threatened to shoot anyone who did not follow his orders, while the other man ordered the bank manager to open the cash drawer.
When the bank manager complied, the money was put in the bag and the two men fled. Joseph was reportedly identified as the man who ordered the bank manager to open the cash drawer. According to Barron, the other man involved in the robbery was never positively identified.
Joseph is scheduled to be in court on Dec. 20 and Jan. 3.
He faces additional charges that he had bench warrants on for failure to appear in court. They are one count of suspended driver’s license, one count of felony trespassing, one count of reckless driving, one count of unlawful altered tag and one count of resist obstruct officer without violence.