Bank robbery suspect

A Bloomington woman has been arrested for her involvement in the June 14 robbery of an area bank, as well as the robberies of as many as three banks in South Carolina.
Lawanda D. Johnson, 24, is suspected of robbing People’s State Bank, 525 S. Clarizz Blvd., according to a press release from the Bloomington Police Department. Surveillance photos taken at the bank and dispersed after the robbery led to a tip being made July 15. A local investigation following the tip indicated she might be working with two other Bloomington residents, Auric Koestner and
Brandon Williams.
Johnson, Koestner and Williams were arrested Wednesday in Moncks Corner, South Carolina minutes after a bank robbery took place there. All three may be charged with three different bank robberies that have taken place in that area in the past week.
A robbery June 30 at the People’s State Bank in Paragon, Ind., may also be connected with these robberies. During the robberies in both Bloomington and Paragon, the suspects displayed a note to the teller demanding cash before fleeing the premises. No weapons were displayed.
The Bloomington Police Department is currently working with South Carolina authorities to determine what evidence was recovered from the vehicle when Johnson, Koestner and Williams were arrested. The FBI has also been contacted to determine whether the suspects are connected to any other unsolved bank robberies in Indiana and South Carolina.
A probable cause affidavit has been forwarded to the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office requesting that Lawanda D. Johnson be charged with robbery.