Helpful Driver, Good Police Work Nabbed 'Freedom Fighter Bandit'

NASHVILLE, TN — The woman charged with robbing banks around Atlanta as the "Freedom Fighter Bandit" was arrested in Tennessee after she used a ride-hailing service to get away from a robbery there, authorities say.

A helpful driver and on-the-fly police work helped secure the arrest of Nilsa Marie Urena, 25, at the Greyhound bus station in Nashville. The FBI believes Urena robbed at least nine banks, mostly in the metro Atlanta area, always claiming to do so for a social cause.

According to the FBI, Urena had used getaway drivers she met on the internet for her previous robberies. But Saturday's robbery, of the Upper Cumberland Credit Union in Crossville, broke that pattern, they say.

After passing a note reading "bomb: 20 minutes: no cops: Allah" to a teller at the Crossville credit union, she fled the bank with $1,000 cash, authorities say.

Nashville's U.S. Attorney, Donald Cochran, told Fox 17 that Urena was spotted by bank employees and passers-by changing clothes behind a nearby grocery store and getting into a car. This time, investigators say, Urena used a car service for her getaway and police were able to track down the driver and call his cell phone, urging him to remain calm and explaining who his passenger was.

The driver texted law enforcement with instructions on how to access his computer so they could learn where Urena asked to be dropped off, Cochran told the station, and police were waiting at the Greyhound station when she arrived.

The FBI says they found a purple wig inside Urena's backpack, along with other disguises she'd used in the robberies and another demand note.

Before Saturday, authorities say Urena had most recently robbed the Hamilton State Bank, at 519 Hardee St., in Dallas, the FBI says. Before that, she was named as the main suspect in bank heists in Loganville, Griffin, Comer, Douglasville, Lithonia, Ellenwood and Stone Mountain.

Sometimes appearing in a black coat, black wool cap, black sunglasses, black gloves and black boots, Urena, 25, earned her nickname from authorities because they say she claimed to be stealing in the name of a social cause. What social cause that is, exactly, remained unclear.

On what appears to be Urena's Facebook account, posts in recent months talked about God, "Big Brother" and government conspiracies, suggesting at least once that an apocalypse is imminent. The account's most recent post, from Nov. 17, reads like this:

"Those who accepts the mark shall be thrown in the lake of fire! We have become enslaved by technology. (Idols) Created by the beast (UN) One world government! Walk away for the Messiah is coming to fight against this beast that has been created! It's is here!!!! Face ID or thumb print. This system will be in place everywhere! The cost is 999. 666 Wisdom! Wake up America! Wake up world. Wake up Body of God!"

During the robbery in Dallas the FBI says a female suspect and a male accomplice entered the bank and said they had a bomb, ordering employees not to call police. She was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, with a bandanna covering part of her face.

The FBI also believes Urena is responsible for the following robberies:

• BB&T Bank, 4464 Atlanta Hwy, Loganville, Jan. 19
• First National Bank, 1501 W. McIntosh Rd., Griffin, Dec. 13
• First Citizens Bank, 36 Ga. 72, Comer, Dec. 4
• Bank of the Ozarks, 9001 Hospital Dr., Douglasville, Nov. 3
• Georgia's Own Credit Union, 2437 Loganville Hwy., Grayson, Nov. 3
• Citizen Trust Bank, 2727 Panola Rd., Lithonia, Nov. 1
• Associated Credit Union, 5032 Old Grant Rd., Ellenwood, Oct. 30
• Wells Fargo Bank, 6063 Memorial Dr., Stone Mountain, Oct. 30 (attempted)

Photos courtesy FBI