by Amy Lorentzen, Associated Press
NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) - The watchful eye of the O’Neill police chief led to the apprehension of three of the men suspected in one of the deadliest bank robberies in the nation’s history.
Holdup men shot five people to death in a bank robbery Thursday. Three of the suspects then fled into the Nebraska countryside in a stolen car.
Authorities late Thursday said another man, 26-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez of Madison, was wanted in the shootings.
The initial manhunt ended a few hours after the holdup when Chief Ben Matchett arrested three men 76 miles away in O’Neill, authorities said.
When the three stopped for gas and food in O’Neill minutes later, they were surrounded by police.
“We conducted a high-risk stop,” Matchett, 41, said.
“The cops had their guns drawn and everything, then they had them get down on the ground,” said Natalie Ethington, the gas station’s manager.
Matchett said he could not disclose what led him and two other officers to the suspect’s pickup, but Holt County Attorney Tom Herzog said the three men matched the descriptions of the suspects.
No weapons were found in the vehicle, Matchett said. Police, volunteer firefighters and volunteers on all-terrain vehicles were combing the side of U.S. Highway 275 between O’Neill and Norfolk well past dark Thursday searching for evidence, Matchett said.
The suspects were arrested in a pickup that had been stolen from a rural area where authorities found the car that was believed to been have used by the men to flee Norfolk after the robbery.
The three were identified by police as Jose Sandoval, 23, of Norfolk; Jorge Galindo, 21, and Erick Fernando Vela, 21, both of Madison.
They were later charged with five counts of first-degree murder, which carries a potential death sentence in Nebraska.
Four employees and a customer were killed at the U.S. Bank branch in Norfolk, a one-story, tile-roofed stucco building with twin glass doors in the middle of a strip mall parking lot. Another customer was wounded in the shoulder by gunfire.
Authorities would not say whether the gunmen got away with any money.
Police Chief Bruce Mizner had tears in his eyes as he read the victims’ names at a news conference. The employees - Lola Elwood, 43, of Norfolk; Jo Mausbach, 42, of Humphrey; Lisa Bryant, 29, of Norfolk; and Samuel Sun, 50, of Norfolk - and customer Evonne Tuttle, 37, of Stanton were found dead at the scene.
Mizner said it was unclear what went on inside in the bank, though the wounded customer and two unharmed employees may be able to help. Investigators did not immediately have the special equipment needed to view the bank’s security tapes, but were screening it by evening.
The robbery occurred shortly before 9 a.m.; the suspects were arrested about three hours later.
After leaving the bank through a shot-out glass door, the gunmen broke into a nearby house where they confronted the home’s residents at gunpoint and stole their car, Mizner said. No one in the home was injured.
The suspects drove about 10 miles, ditched the car and stole a pickup truck, Mizner said. Authorities tracked down the first car, a Subaru Outback, by using its satellite navigation system.
As news of the crime spread, Gov. Mike Johanns declared a state of emergency and authorized the use of a Black Hawk military helicopter for the manhunt. Roadblocks were set up throughout the area.
Schools in Norfolk were locked down and students were forbidden to leave without an adult. Many banks in the area either closed or allowed only drive-through window transactions with customers.
Dale Tomka, a florist, said he saw the gunmen shortly before the shootings and that they were wearing stocking caps, possibly ski masks, and one of them had black stripes painted on his cheeks. The gunmen were also described as wearing dark, baggy clothes.
Mizner said authorities had not determined why the bank door was shot out, but it may have simply been shattered by the gunfire inside.
A stray bullet shattered a drive-through window at a Burger King next door to the bank. No one inside was hurt.
“I screamed and said, `My God, I think somebody shot the building!” said Donna Schwager, who was working a cash register near the window. “The good Lord was looking out for me today.”
The killings stunned the community of 25,000 people about 90 miles northwest of Omaha. Norfolk is best known as the hometown of comedian Johnny Carson, but it is also the economic hub in rural, northeast Nebraska.
“No one can believe this actually happened, and all those people were killed,” said Shellee Honcik, an accountant was working in the Burger King next door to the bank when the robbery occurred.
The governor and executives with the bank’s parent company, U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis, flew to the community upon word of the shootings.
“Obviously this is a tragic situation and we’re trying to cooperate with police and do all we can to help in the investigation,” said Steve Dale, a U.S. Bancorp spokesman.
Matchett didn’t know if his arrest would bring closure to some of the families.
“I don’t know if that’s possible,” he said. “I feel very bad for the families.”
The three suspects were taken to Madison to face a bond hearing Friday.