Brothers indicted in St. Louis bank robberies

ST. LOUIS -- A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted two brothers from south-central Missouri on bank robbery and firearm charges.

Joseph Shields, 25, of Lebanon, Mo., faces four felony counts of bank robbery, one count of conspiring to commit bank robbery and one felony count of being a drug user in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Ray Gruender said. Shields' brother, Leslie Shields, 29, also of Lebanon, is charged with seven felony counts of bank robbery and one felony count of carrying a firearm during a bank robbery, Gruender said.

The brothers were arrested following a standoff with police at a St. Louis apartment on July 10.

The government's indictment alleges the brothers robbed seven banks in St. Louis and St. Louis County over a span of five months, beginning March 7 and ending July 5.