Suspect on 'Most Wanted' caught in Sikeston

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A Sikeston woman was arrested last week in connection with the Oct. 9, 2003, armed robbery of the Fifth Third Bank of Indianapolis after being recognized on the popular Fox TV program "America's Most Wanted."

Television cameras were present when 22-year-old Naomi Betts was arrested. Other than making an obscene gesture at the camera, she was arrested without incident, said Capt. Mark Crocker of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety. During questioning by Indianapolis and Sikeston detectives, she re-portedly admitted she was involved in the armed robbery, according to both Crocker and the "America's Most Wanted" Web site. Crocker said Betts has not named her accomplice, who is still at large.

The program's Web site says Betts gave a note to a bank teller stating that she was armed and that she wanted money and no dye packs, devices that explode leaving a dye that marks the stolen money and often the person carrying it. After getting an undetermined amount of money, she and a male accomplice fled in a 1980s model Cadillac.

Sikeston police chief Drew Juden said he and Charleston, Mo., officials were contacted after the May 22 segment of the program featured the incident. "America's Most Wanted" had received several calls naming Betts as the suspect and stating she was in the Sikeston/ Charleston area.

The Sunday before the arrest, crews from the TV program spoke with Charleston and Sikeston police officials, stating that they would like to film the capture to air on a future show. Since Betts' last known address was in Sikeston, police and detectives began cross-checking all their information to make sure Betts would be where she was reported to be.

The combined investigation showed that Betts played a major role in the robbery.

"She was one of the main players," Crocker said. "She was wielding a gun and pretty much a main participant or one of the main participants."

Several others in Sikeston, identified as people who had knowledge of the robbery but were not involved, were questioned.

Sikeston and Indianapolis detectives located Betts at her mother's residence on Jackson Street in Sikeston. The "America's Most Wanted" Web site states that Betts' mother initially denied Betts was at home, but some children pointed officers to a room where she was hiding. A search warrant was also served to look for any items related to the robbery. The stolen money has not been recovered, Crocker said.

Betts is charged with robbery; she also was arrested on a Miner municipal warrant for failure to appear on a traffic charge. Crocker said Betts had a prior record but for minor traffic offenses -- "nothing of any significance," he said.

Betts was in Indianapolis, Crocker said, because she has relatives there.

She currently is being held in the Scott County Jail awaiting immediate extradition to Indiana.

"America's Most Wanted" producer John Turchin said Betts' capture will be featured on the show June 12.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160