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Suspects in Cashiers bank robberies caught
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B. Richardson
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A. Aleman
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O. Aleman
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By Lynn Hotaling
A cooperative effort by three law enforcement agencies has resulted in the capture of three suspects who have been linked to three bank robberies in Jackson and Haywood counties.
According to Jackson County Sheriff Jimmy Ashe, the suspects – all facing federal bank robbery charges – were apprehended without incident Thursday (March 23) in Clyde and are now in federal custody in Asheville.
The arrests came after a joint law enforcement effort that began to take shape in the wake of a Sept. 23 robbery at Champion Credit Union in Clyde, Ashe said. Officers from the Jackson and Haywood county sheriff’s offices teamed with FBI agents to capture the suspects.
A similar pattern to the robberies became apparent after men matching the description of the Clyde robbery hit United Community Bank in Cashiers on Dec. 19, Ashe said. A third bank heist on Feb. 23 – this time at Cashiers’ Macon Bank – fit into the same mold, Ashe said.
All three robberies were committed between 9 and 9:30 a.m.; all were carried out quickly, with robbers in and out in under 90 seconds; all three banks were robbed by two men brandishing handguns; and descriptions of all three get-away vehicles were similar, Ashe said.
Last week’s arrests came through a tip from a person who had looked at the Macon Bank surveillance photos on the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Web site, Ashe said.
Arrested at their residence and being held without bond are Bruce Lee Richardson, 25, Alberto Aleman, 26, and Orestes Ignacio Aleman, 54, all of Thistle Ridge Road, Clyde. Orestes Aleman is the father of Alberto Aleman, Ashe said.
The elder Aleman is also wanted in the Tampa, Fla., area on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Ashe said. All three are originally from the Tampa area, he said. The Alemans are of Cuban descent, and Richardson is of Caribbean descent, Ashe said. The suspects all speak Spanish, which was part of the information officers gathered from witnesses at the robbery scenes, Ashe said.
All three suspects have been connected to all three bank robberies and face minimum sentences of 75 years to a maximum of life in prison when their cases are heard in federal court, Ashe said.
A total of more than $54,000 was taken during the three robberies, with more than $15,000 taken from Champion Credit Union, more than $30,000 stolen from United Community and more than $9,000 taken from Macon Bank.
According to Ashe, the 1,200 informational fliers his department passed out in the Cashiers area plus the surveillance photos available via the Internet helped officers gather information that resulted in last week’s arrests.
The investigation is ongoing, and Ashe said officers expect further charges against the three suspects as well as charges to be brought against additional suspects.
Ashe credited area citizens with helping officers apprehend the suspects.
“These arrests would not have been possible without community involvement and citizens’ concerns,” he said.
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