Teller: Suspect threatened violence during bank robbery

A Cape Girardeau bank teller testified Tuesday that an accused robber threatened to kill if his demands were not met.

The bank employee, Aaron Randolph, was balancing his teller drawers at US Bank, 3060 William St., around mid-day Aug. 12 when a man slid him a note on a withdrawal slip.

The note demanded money in $50 and $100 bills and warned that he had a gun.

"He stated 100s or 50s, or he would kill," Randolph said during a preliminary hearing for William M. White III before Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp.

Charged with first-degree robbery in the crime is White, 31, of Mechanicsville, Md.

During the robbery, Randolph said White kept his hand behind his back, leading the teller to believe the defendant had some sort of weapon.

Randolph grabbed a handful of cash, which later amounted to $2,600, and handed it over to White, who ran from the bank.

Another teller, Brandon Lohmeir, saw White run away and climb into a white Ford pickup truck. Lohmeir took down the license plate number and relayed it to the police.

Less than 30 minutes after the robbery, Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper L.R. Lejeune spotted the defendant's vehicle on southbound Interstate 55 near the Interstate 57 interchange at Miner, Mo.

After White was arrested, he told Lejeune about the money in the truck when he learned it would be towed.

"He told me he didn't want the wrecker driver to get the money," Lejeune testified. The same amount stolen from the bank was recovered in the truck.

Following the testimony, Kamp found probable cause in the case and ordered White to appear in Circuit Court Sept. 18 for arraignment.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127