Teller IDs robbery suspect

BANGOR – A former University of Maine student learned the hard way that the Pine Tree State is really just one big small town.

A teller at the University Credit Union that was robbed Monday told investigators she thought she had taken classes at UM with the man who allegedly robbed the Union Street credit union. That led the FBI to the university in Orono and a detective with campus police who identified Steven Wesley Bell from credit union surveillance tapes.

Bell, 19, of Bangor, is facing drug and theft charges in state court. He is no longer a student at the university, UM spokesman Joe Carr said Wednesday.

Bell allegedly entered the credit union about 9:15 a.m. Monday and handed a teller a note reading: “THIS IS A HOLDUP!! I HAVE A GUN. PUT 100’S, 50’S AND 20’S IN BAG AND YOU WILL NOT GET HURT,” according to the affidavit filed Wednesday in federal court.

None of the 20 or so employees of the credit union was injured Monday morning, and police have said the robber was not armed. No customers were in the bank at the time of the robbery.

The robber also handed the teller a bag, stated he had a gun and repeated the information contained in the written note, according to the affidavit. The teller gave money in those denominations to the robber, who put it in his jacket pocket and left the building on foot.

Officials have not released the amount of money taken in the robbery, but defense attorney J. Hilary Billings said Wednesday outside of court that prosecutors informed him approximately $2,000 was stolen.

Bell was arrested Tuesday afternoon outside his Ohio Street apartment and taken into federal custody on a warrant alleging that he robbed the credit union. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of an undisclosed ailment.

He remained Wednesday in Penobscot County Jail after a federal judge temporarily detained him in connection with the crime.

A detention hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday in U.S. District Court in Bangor. Assistant U.S. Attorney James McCarthy, who is prosecuting the case, has asked that Bell be denied bail.

If convicted, Bell faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Bell was under investigation by University of Maine authorities for alleged drug possession and passing bad checks more than a month before the robbery.

As part of their investigation, campus police searched Bell’s Androscoggin Hall dorm room Feb. 24 looking for checks after it was reported that he had cashed more than $1,500 in bad checks or checks he claimed he had lost and was reimbursed for.

Searching the dorm room, University of Maine Public Safety officials found plastic bags with white powder residue and straws that all tested positive for cocaine, One day after searching his dorm room, the police found Bell with drugs in a car with two other people who were not students, Carr said. Authorities found cocaine in Bell’s shoes, and Carr said Bell also had the prescription drug Adderall with him.

Bell was charged with two counts of possession of a Schedule W drug and one count of theft by deception.

The theft charge stems from the check cases.

The campus bookstore reported Feb. 15 that Bell had cashed three checks for a total of $503 on a closed account. A week later, on Feb. 22, the bursar’s office, which disburses loan funds to students, reported to police that Bell had collected one check for $1,000, then returned later that same day to say he had lost it. He was given a replacement check and a stop payment issued on the first check, but Bell cashed both checks.

The day he was arrested, Bell was scheduled to appear in 3rd District Court in Bangor for a probable cause hearing on the state charges. He did not show up.

The hearing has not yet been rescheduled.

BDN writer Doug Kesseli contributed to this report.