Bank employess paint scary scene in robbery trial

IOWA CITY - Bank employees and law enforcement officers took the stand as testimony for the first-degree robbery trial for a North Liberty man began Monday.

James F. Miller, 27, is accused of robbing a Hills Bank branch, 25 Highway 965, North Liberty on July 16, 2009. He is charged with first-degree robbery, a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

Margaret Stackhouse, an employee of Hills bank who Miller allegedly demanded money from while pointing a gun at her face, struggled at times to give details of the robbery. When asked to repeat the events, Stackhouse had to pause several times to compose herself.

Stackhouse told the jury the man pulled a gun from the front of his pants, pointed it at her face, and said “Give me the money. I will shoot you.”

According to testimony from Stackhouse and former Hills Bank teller Jesse Soukup, Miller entered the bank around 3:45 p.m. on July 16, 2009 wearing a straw hat and sunglasses. He then approached Soukup who was working the only open teller stand.

During testimony, Soukup said Miller acted like he was trying to withdraw money from an account, but was talking with a “speech impediment” and was very difficult to understand. After a few minutes of failed communication, Miller gave Soukup a piece of paper with what he said was his mother's phone number written on it. Miller told Soukup his mother could clear things up.

Soukup said he left the teller stand to call the man's mother, leaving three bundles of cash equaling $3,500 near the ledge of the teller stand. Soukup said the bundles were from the cash register drawer and were to be deposited into a safe. He said the bank does this routinely throughout the day so cash registers do not have too much money in them.

Stackhouse, who was Soukup's supervisor, noticed the bundles sitting in the open and grabbed them. Soon after, she said Miller motioned for her to come over to the stall where he was waiting. When she complied, Miller allegedly pulled out the gun and demanded the cash. Stackhouse gave Miller the bundles of money and he fled the bank.

But Miller did not get far.

Melisa Henley, a branch manager at MidWestOne Bank located just blocks away from the Hills Bank, testified she had informed police she believed there was a suspicious man who had entered Hills Bank.

Earlier in the day, Miller had entered MidWestOne and caught Henley's eye because he was wearing sunglasses. She said his demeanor while in the bank made her suspicious enough to grab screen shots of the man from the bank's video surveillance to keep for future reference.

After Henley left MidWestOne for the day, she received a call from an co-worker informing her the man had returned to the bank. As Henley was en route back to MidWestOne, she saw the suspicious man on the corner of the street and watched him enter Hills Bank.

After alerting police, North Liberty police officers Jess Bernhard and Lee Bowstead waited outside of Hills Bank in anticipation for a robbery. They both testified it is protocol for officers to stay out of a bank during a potential robbery to prevent a hostage situation.

When Miller left Hills Bank with money in hand, Bernhard said he and Bowstead yelled at Miller to stop, but he began running. Bernhard said Miller appeared to be running toward an empty getaway vehicle parked near a car wash a block away from the bank. But Miller lost his footing and fell to the ground, allowing officers to apprehend him.

Officers said they recovered the bundles of cash and a loaded BB gun after searching Miller.

During his opening argument, defense attorney Pat Ingram said his client will be found innocent of first-degree robbery because he did not use a dangerous weapon. According to Iowa code, “a person commits robbery in the first degree when, while perpetrating a robbery, the person purposely inflicts or attempts to inflict serious injury, or is armed with a dangerous weapon.”

Ingram said the state will not be able to prove Miller used a dangerous weapon during the robbery because the type of BB gun Miller allegedly used during the robbery. He said after evidence is shown regarding how many feet per second the gun can fire a BB and the small size of a BB, “There will be no proof of dangerousness in this case.”