3 charged in Lilbourn robbery

Three suspects believed to be responsible for the bombing hoax that tied up Cape Girardeau police for hours last week were charged Tuesday in connection with a bank robbery in Lilbourn, Mo.

Keith D. Moon, 18, Darnell W. Moon, 19, both of Cape Girardeau, and Lance L. Lewis, 21, of Sikeston, Mo., are being held in the New Madrid County Jail on $150,000 cash bonds. They face charges of armed criminal action and first-degree robbery.

The FBI, which plans to file federal charges, said its investigation revealed the plot began in Cape Girardeau, allegedly with the series of six bomb threats meant to divert police attention while the men robbed a local bank. There was no bank robbery in Cape Girardeau, however, possibly because officers were stationed at several banks.

The Cape Girardeau Police Department, Central Middle School, Central High School, the Cape Girardeau Montessori School, the post office and Chateau Girardeau retirement community all received threats. Police received calls saying that a bomb would explode outside each facility in 15 minutes.

The Southeast Missouri Bomb Squad, Cape Girardeau police, federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and FBI agents searched each of the locations.

Police found only one device, an over-the-counter CO2 cartridge designed to give the appearance of an explosive.

Police say they believe that when their plan failed in Cape Girardeau, the three men went to Lilbourn and robbed the Bank of New Madrid.

Lilbourn police responded to a 911 call that two armed men had just robbed the bank. On the way to the bank, Lilbourn police chief Dennis Young spotted a car parked haphazardly and facing the wrong direction, then noticed three men running away from the bank.

Young followed the suspects two blocks before getting out of his car and taking up the chase on foot. Lewis tripped and fell during the pursuit, at which point Young placed him under arrest, according to Young's probable-cause statement.

Keith Moon continued to evade police until Young fired two warning shots and cautioned that "the next shot was going into him," according to the probable-cause statement.

Young then arrested Moon, but several hours went by before a Scott County K-9 dog tracked down the third suspect, who had hidden in some thick brush not far from where the chase began.

During interviews with the FBI, all three men confessed to certain details of their involvement in the robbery, according to the probable-cause statement. Lewis also admitted to acting as lookout for the other two suspects while they robbed the bank, the statement said.

After the three were arrested, Cape Girardeau police learned of three additional CO2 cartridges that had been planted at buildings during the bomb scares and retrieved them, according to the FBI and Sgt. Barry Hovis.

bidicosmo@semisourian.com

335-6611, extension 245