BY SARAH KARUSH, The Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) -- A Detroit police officer has been indicted on multiple counts of bank robbery, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced Wednesday.
Walter John Bates, a 46-year-old sergeant in the homicide division and an 18-year veteran of the department, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank robbery and 13 counts of bank robbery.
Bates’ brother, Albert Steven Bates, 37, of Detroit, and Kevin Foster-Bey, 43, of Detroit, were charged in the same case last year, and Walter Bates was added in a superseding indictment on Tuesday, said Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins.
Each bank robbery count carries up to 20 years in prison, while conspiracy to commit bank robbery carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
The indictment charges that from July 2002 until about November 2002, the three men conspired to commit 14 bank robberies in and around Detroit. The indictment alleges the three committed bank robberies wearing disguises and using handwritten demand notes, according to Collins’ office.
Walter Bates allegedly acted as a lookout and on some occasions the getaway driver. He was in federal court to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon, Balaya said.
Deputy Police Chief Tara Dunlop declined comment, except to say that Bates had not been fired as of Wednesday afternoon. The homicide division said Bates was on leave.
A message seeking comment was left for Walter Bates’ attorney, Carole Stanyar. Directory assistance found no Walter Bates in Detroit, and no one answered at the residence of a Walter Bates in nearby Redford. Numbers for Albert Bates and Foster-Bey were unlisted.
Foster-Bey has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, while Albert Bates is awaiting trial and currently is free on bond, Collins’ office said.
It said the case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the Detroit Police Department’s internal affairs section.