Suspect in custody after bank robbery in Cape

A suspect was in custody Friday afternoon after a robbery at Regions Bank on South Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau.

Cape Girardeau police officers gather in the parking lot of West Park Mall after a suspect was taken into custody there following a robbery Friday afternoon at the Regions Bank branch, 101 S. Mount Auburn Road, in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

DePaul A. Bush, 36, was charged Saturday with second-degree robbery.

According to a probable-cause statement, Bush entered the bank through the front door, laid a deposit slip and a bag on the counter and told an employee it was a robbery. He told the employee to give him the money in $100 and $50 bills.

After the employee gave him what was in her drawer, he demanded more. After giving money from a second drawer, the man ran out of the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The man dropped the money while fleeing after a dye pack in the bag exploded. The employee had included the dye pack -- an anti-theft device that looks like a stack of bills, but sprays dye -- to render the money unusable.

Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Adam Glueck said no one was injured during the robbery. Glueck said no weapon was displayed.

At least one customer was in the bank, along with several employees, when the robbery occurred.

Glueck said the call about the robbery was at 3:09 p.m. A man matching the description of the suspect was taken into custody at 3:38 p.m. in the parking lot of West Park Mall.

Although Bush later told investigators he had changed clothes while fleeing, two bank employees positively identified him as the man who robbed the bank.

Speaking with investigators, Bush admitted to having robbed the bank and confirmed the bank employee's account of the heist.

A suspect is detained in the parking lot of West Park Mall after a bank robbery Friday afternoon at the Regions Bank branch, 101 S. Mount Auburn Road, in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

Bush is being held on $75,000 cash-only bond. Bush is scheduled to appear in Division Three court of the 32nd Judicial Circuit on Monday.

Scanner traffic indicated the suspect had run through Burger King, crossed Mount Auburn Road and was spotted near Chick-fil-A by an officer.

Cape Girardeau police, Cape Girardeau County sheriff's deputies and the Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to the scene.

Pertinent address:

101 S. Mount Auburn Road, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

3049 William St, Cape Girardeau, Mo.