November 23, 2024
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Jury indicts suspect in credit union robbery

BANGOR – A former University of Maine student who allegedly robbed a local credit union earlier this month was indicted Monday by a federal grand jury.

Stephen Wesley Bell, 19, of Bangor and Newport is charged with the April 4 robbery of the University Credit Union on Union Street. He was arrested by Bangor police detectives two days later at his Ohio Street apartment.

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

A teller at the credit union told investigators she thought she had taken classes at UM with the alleged robber.

The robber allegedly entered the credit union about 9:15 a.m. 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 an affidavit filed this month in federal court.

None of the 20 or so employees of the credit union was injured, 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 the 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 of Bangor said earlier this month that prosecutors informed him approximately $2,000 was stolen.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Bangor Police Department, the Maine State Police and the University of Maine Public Safety Department.

Correction: A story published Wednesday about a man indicted Monday for allegedly robbing a credit union in Bangor earlier this month misspelled his name. The indicted man is Steven Wesley Bell.

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