Crime & Safety

Detroit Man Indicted in Grosse Pointe, St. Clair Shores Bank Robberies

An anonymous tip related to a Facebook picture that looked like a police artist sketch led to the man's arrest.

A grand jury issued an indictment this week for a Detroit man charging him with robbing five banks from October 2010 through January--including two St. Clair Shores banks and a Grosse Pointe Woods bank. 

Anthony Wilson, 25, of Detroit, was arrested and preliminarily charged in February, according to federal court records. He is accused of stealing $6,367 from five banks.

The spree began Oct. 28 at Chase Bank, 31045 Harper Ave. in St. Clair Shores and continued with Comerica Bank in Warren Nov. 18 followed by a robbery at , 20599 Mack Ave. in Grosse Pointe Woods. Next he is accused of robbing PNC Bank, 31320 Harper Ave. in St. Clair Shores, Dec. 21. The last robbery in which he is charged involves a Comerica Bank in Roseville on Jan. 5, according to the indictment. 

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A tip called into the FBI in early January identified Wilson as matching the description of photos put out by police agencies asking for the public's help in identifying the robber. The tipster told police Wilson had a Facebook page with a picture that matched the description of what the robber wore during the Nov. 26, 2010 robbery, according to the federal complaint.

Wilson's personal cell phone records were reviewed following a judge's order to the phone company to release them, and FBI agents found that calls were made from the phone roughly about one mile from each bank on the corresponding day to each robbery, according to a complaint.

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Meanwhile, charges stemming from other area bank robberies previously identified as a spree by a man and a woman appearing to have worked together have been dismissed. 

Porchia Nicole Terrell, of Detroit, had been charged with a single count of bank robbery in the Oct. 28, 2010 robbery of , 685 St. Clair St. in the City of Grosse Pointe. Terrell's attorney recently filed motions to suppress evidence in her case related to two photo lineups given to a bank teller. In the first one completed close in time to the robbery, the teller identified one of Terrell's relatives and she was not actually included in the lineup. 

A second photo lineup completed Feb. 14, her attorney argued, was highly suggestive. The second motion to suppress involved Terrell not being read her miranda rights before police interviewed her following her arrest, according to federal court records. 

The case was dismissed March 23 for "insufficient evidence to prove elements of charged offense." It was dismissed without prejudice, which means it charges can be refiled at a future date.

According to the complaint filed against Terrell, police originally suspected another man of at least one of the robberies Wilson is now charged with--the Oct. 28, 2010 robbery of Chase Bank, 31045 Harper Ave. in St. Clair Shores. 

That man, Marvin Edgar Cajar Jr., is awaiting trial on a single charge of bank robbery. He was originally charged with three counts stemming from the robberies of Charter One Bank in Detroit Oct. 9; , 1 Kercheval Ave. in Grosse Pointe Farms Oct. 15; and Comerica Bank in Detroit Oct. 28. 

A judge dismissed two of the three charges at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office, which states the dismissal is in the best interest of justice. The charge stemming from the Grosse Pointe Farms robbery remains and Cajar is scheduled to go to trial May 17, according to federal court records.

Cajar was originally identified as a suspect in another Grosse Pointe Woods bank robbery at , 20276 Mack Ave., on Oct. 22, according to the complaint filed against Terrell. No charges have been filed in that robbery however.

The three bank robberies committed on Oct. 28 happened in a short amount of time. The first bank was hit at 2:36 p.m. on West Chicago Street in Detroit, the second at 3:38 p.m. on Harper Avenue in St. Clair Shores and the third at 4:22 p.m. on St. Clair Street in Grosse Pointe.

According to photos released by police following the robberies, the same baseball hat featuring the Oakland A's was worn by each robber--originally thought to be one man and one woman. Federal court documents show now that two men and one woman were involved, however. 

Wilson is scheduled to make his next appearance May 13. 

FBI special agent Sandra Berchtold could not comment Wednesday on a connection between the three individuals.


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