Man held in bank robbery is suspect in 6 other cases

Star Tribune

Last update: February 13, 2009 - 11:28 PM

An armed man robbed a Wells Fargo bank branch in south Minneapolis early Friday morning but was quickly arrested a few blocks away when a resident called police to say a strange man was hiding in her screened-in porch.

The suspect was identified by the FBI as Esley Andre Reid, 29, of St. Paul. He is believed to be responsible for six other bank robberies and attempted bank robberies in St. Paul and Woodbury between August and December of 2008, according to a release from Ralph S. Boelter, FBI special agent in charge of the Minneapolis office.

On Tuesday, authorities are expected to charge Reid with multiple counts of bank robbery, as well as parole and weapons violations, Boelter said.

The latest robbery occurred about 6:50 a.m., when a man with a handgun approached two bank employees as they were opening the branch in the 4900 block of 34th Avenue S. for the day.

Screams from the employees prompted a passerby to call 911. Minneapolis police officers were dispatched to the neighborhood, where they spotted Reid and arrested him after a brief chase, Boelter said.

LORA PABST

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