Police: Suspect made bomb threat in SunTrust bank robbery
The suspect in the SunTrust bank robbery on Monday told the teller in a handwritten note that he had a bomb, according to testimony Wednesday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.
Victor Cartell Butler, 59, pleaded not guilty to one count of armed robbery. Judge Mary Buckner ordered him held in the Muscogee County Jail without bond and bound the case over to Superior Court.
Detective David Stokes said patrol officers were called to the 2050 Auburn Ave. bank around 4:20 p.m. Monday to investigate an armed robbery. FBI agents also responded to the scene.
When police arrived, they spoke with bank employees who said an older black man robbed the bank. Witnesses said the man approached a bank teller and placed a green backpack on the counter. He withdrew an unknown electronic device and passed the teller a handwritten note, police said.
In the note, the man said he had a bomb and demanded money, Stokes told the court. Witnesses told officials the device looked similar to a child’s walkie-talkie.
The bank teller gave the suspect an undisclosed amount of money and he fled the scene. Witnesses believed he went behind a nearby restaurant, the officer testified.
Police canvassed the area and found a backpack behind a restaurant. The backpack contained a pair of rubber flip-flops that appeared to be the ones the suspect wore during the robbery.
Authorities also received surveillance footage and released images of the suspect to the media.
“Within several hours, we had received multiple calls from citizens who were able to identify the suspect as being Mr. Victor Butler,” Stokes testified. “In the meantime, Columbus Police Department’s crime scene investigators were able to match fingerprints recovered from the note left on the crime scene with fingerprints of Victor Butler.”
Butler was also identified as the bank robber in a photo line-up, police added.
Authorities apprehended Butler without incident at 9:16 a.m. Tuesday in his home.
Stokes said FBI agents conducted an interview with the suspect in which he admitted to the crime. Police found money in his possession that he said was “leftover money from the bank.”
Officials also seized the electronic device he allegedly used in the robbery. When asked about the object after the hearing, police declined to comment
Butler didn’t testify in court.
— Sarah is a crime and safety reporter at The Ledger-Enquirer. You can contact her on Twitter at @SarahR_92.
This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Police: Suspect made bomb threat in SunTrust bank robbery ."