Mom, 2 Kids Abducted, Held Captive By Bank Robbers: WI Police

RACINE, WI — Authorities in Racine say they've arrested three men and a woman, accusing them of kidnapping a Wells Fargo bank manager and her two children, and holding them hostage in order to rob the bank where she worked. The mother and children were only released after the trio of bandits had robbed the bank and fled the scene, police said.

Racine Police say an investigation that included finding the woman's burnt car abandoned in Milwaukee and clues in video surveillance footage in three counties led to the arrest of the four suspects.

Authorities say William Howell, 19, George Pearson-Robb, 19, Lamarra Powell, 18, and Donterious Robb, 23, all of Milwaukee, face multiple charges as a result of the incident. They were arrested just more than a week after the abduction and robbery.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Racine County, the three men began talking about a plot to rob the Racine Wells Fargo Bank about two weeks before going through with the robbery.

The Charges

Donterious Robb

• armed robbery with threat of force
• three counts of kidnapping
• robbery of a financial institution
• arson

William Howell

• armed robbery with threat of force
• three counts of kidnapping
• robbery of a financial institution
• arson

George Pearson-Robb

• armed robbery with threat of force
• three counts of kidnapping
• robbery of a financial institution
• arson

Lamarra Powell

• three counts of kidnapping, party to a crime
• robbery of a financial institution, party to a crime

The Night Of the Kidnapping

Racine police responded to the Wells Fargo Bank at 1700 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive in Racine on a report of a bank robbery on the night of June 28.

The bank's branch manager, a mother of two children, closed up the bank for the evening. She got in her 2008 Chevrolet Impala and drove to Kenosha to pick up her children with the intention of driving back to her apartment.

According to the criminal complaint, as soon as she got her kids out of the car, two armed men approached her, forcing she and her two children, ages 5 and 2, into the back seat of her car. The woman told police one of the men pointed a gun at her almost the entire time as another blindfolded her, and drove them from Kenosha to a home in Milwaukee.

Imprisoned In A Basement

Police say one of the men locked her and her two children in the basement of the home in Milwaukee. While she was confined, the men told her they needed to get into the bank vault of the Wells Fargo where she worked.

According to the criminal complaint, one of the men brought a bucket for her and the children to use as a bathroom. At another time, McDonald's Happy Meals were brought downstairs for her children. A woman — who was holding a firearm — later brought blankets downstairs for the mother and her children later that night, authorities said.

The Morning of the Robbery

Police said the woman was again blindfolded and then driven with her two children at 5 a.m. June 29 to Racine to assist the men in robbing the Racine Wells Fargo where she worked. The two men who abducted her and her children were now joined by a third suspect, police said.

According to the criminal complaint, one of the men removed the blind fold from her head and demanded she let them into the bank. Once the suspects forced the woman to bypass the alarm to get into the bank, she walked with her two children into the bank while being held at gunpoint by the suspects.

Police said the men entered the bank, went into the vault and emptied the contents of teller drawers into bags. According to police, the men escaped out a side door onto High Street and fled in her car, as she and her two children remained inside.

As soon as the men were gone, the woman called police.

Catching the Suspects

On June 29, Milwaukee Police responded to a car fire on the 2500 block of N. Buffum Street. When police investigated, they learned the car belonged to the Wells Fargo Bank manager who had been abducted just a day earlier.

When authorities investigated, they reviewed a series of traffic and closed-circuit security cameras in the cities of Racine, Milwaukee and Kenosha. According to the criminal complaint investigators were able to track down images of the three men, and connect them with the abduction and the bank robbery.

According to the criminal complaint, authorities executed search warrants at the home of George Pearson-Robb, Donterious Robb and Lamarra Powell on the 3200 block of N. 37th Street in Milwaukee and William Howell on the 2400 block of N. Palmer Street in Milwaukee on the morning of July 8.

Police say they found the victim's driver's license, four fake guns, clothes worn during the bank robbery and $3,900 in cash at the home of George Pearson-Robb, Donterious Robb and Lamarra Powell. Police also say they found a bucket with waste from the victim and her children in the basement and partially-consumed Happy Meals on the basement floor.

Police say they found another fake gun, and receipts for men's clothing totaling $2,360 at the home of Howell.

Donterious Robb is currently being held in the Racine County Jail on a $1.5 million cash bond. Howell is being held on a $2 million cash bond. Powell is being held on a $1 million cash bond and Pearson-Robb is being held on a $1.5 million cash bond.

They are due in court on July 18 for their preliminary hearing.