A 56-year-old man with four armed holdups on his rap sheet was charged on Friday in federal court with taking a teller hostage and shooting at a police officer after allegedly robbing a bank in St. Paul's St. Anthony Park neighborhood.
Robert L. Russell Jr. of St. Paul is accused of holding up the Park Midway Bank on Como Avenue on Aug. 4, making off with $1,457.
According to court documents:
Russell entered the bank about 2:30 p.m., donned a mask and waved a handgun. He demanded cash and ordered a teller to leave with him. Once outside, Russell fled alone.
A bank security guard checked on the teller and then ran after Russell. During the chase, the robber fired at least one shot at the guard.
Two nearby Xcel Energy employees in a company truck saw the chase and witnessed Russell get in a van and take off.
The van's owner told investigators that Russell had been using the vehicle all day and had called her just after 5 p.m. The phone number was traced to a Wal-Mart in Stillwater, where surveillance cameras showed him buying clothes and a backpack. Two $20 bills found in a cash register matched bait bills from the bank.
Shortly after midnight, the Wisconsin State Patrol reported it had just responded to a vehicle crash involving the van. Russell was arrested at the scene, and nearly all of the stolen loot was found in a backpack in the van.
