A ditched duffel bag containing ammunition, dye-stained money and a spent bullet casing helped lead police to a former Kansas University student now charged with robbing three Lawrence banks at gunpoint.

Acting on information developed by the Lawrence Police Department, FBI agents on Tuesday arrested Jeffrey R. Cox, 21, at a relative’s home in Atlanta.

Cox is charged in Douglas County District Court with three armed robberies: Feb. 2 at Central National Bank, 711 Wakarusa Drive; June 9 at Douglas County Bank, 711 W. 23rd St.; and Dec. 10 at University National Bank, 1400 Kasold Drive.

On Wednesday, he’d been charged in federal court with only the most recent robbery.

In the first two robberies, the suspect brandished a gun at employees, then told them to “Have a nice day” or “Have a good day” as he walked out the door, according to an affidavit. In the third robbery, he fired a gunshot over employees’ heads.

“We’re all very much relieved. We’re very thankful for the work of the Lawrence Police as well as the FBI,” said University National president Todd Sutherland. “It was a very violent situation when he discharged the gun. It caused a lot of anguish among all the employees.”

The robberies

Cox had been a KU undergraduate in recent semesters, but wasn’t enrolled for the fall semester, a university spokesman said.

FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said Cox lived in Lawrence, but he didn’t know anything more about his ties to the city. Cox had been staying with relatives in Atlanta at the time of his arrest.

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The string of robberies began about 11:30 a.m. Feb. 2, when a man walked into the Central National Bank branch wearing a stocking cap and wraparound sunglasses, carrying a duffel bag and brandishing a semi-automatic handgun.

He yelled, “Get your hands up,” “Don’t touch anything,” and “Don’t touch those alarms,” according to an affidavit. He demanded money, told employees not to put any dye packs in the bag with the cash, and put the gun in at least one employee’s face.

As he left, the robber put the handgun into the bag and said, “Have a good day.”

In a similar incident June 9 at Douglas County Bank, the robber told employees “Have a nice day” while walking out the door.

Leads unfold

The breakthrough in the case came Dec. 10, when a surveillance camera at University National bank captured a clear image of the man’s face.

The robber left another clue on the ground; a “Blazer”-brand shell casing he ejected from the gun after firing a shot over employees’ heads.

Police also found footprints in the snow east of the bank and dark-orange dye on the ground at a nearby apartment complex. Two men who were shoveling snow near the apartments reported seeing the man run toward them, then double back and disappear.

Tips trickled into a police hot line after the department published the image from the bank’s surveillance video, but there was another twist: The robber had dropped his duffel bag.

According to the affidavit, the Lawrence Police Department learned that a young Lawrence man was exchanging dye-stained money for unblemished cash at local car washes. Investigators found the man, who confessed he’d found the bag on the ground near his home the day of the University National robbery.

He told police the bag also contained a box of .40-caliber ammunition — of the same brand as the casing found on the bank’s floor. Officers found the box at the man’s home and saw it was missing 11 rounds, which was consistent with the 10-round capacity of a .40-caliber Glock handgun magazine, plus a round in the chamber, according to the affidavit.

‘Good detective work’

Further investigation led police to a Lawrence pawn shop, whose proprietor told them Jeffrey Cox had bought a .40-caliber Glock and a box of ammunition on June 9 — the day of the second robbery.

Police pulled up Cox’s driver’s-license photo and went to his residence to try to find him. The address isn’t listed in court records.

Instead of finding Cox, they found his roommate, who told them the man in the video footage was “positively, without doubt” Jeffrey Cox. Police searched the residence and recovered a stocking cap, wraparound sunglasses, a Glock .40-caliber handgun, and dye-stained clothing.

FBI spokesman Lanza called it “good detective work.” Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney agreed.

“I think the Lawrence Police Department should be commended for following up on the smallest of leads in this case and bringing it to the conclusion that they did,” said Kenney, who on Tuesday filed three counts of aggravated robbery against Cox.

He’s charged in federal court with bank robbery and with using a handgun during a bank robbery. He faces up to 25 years in federal prison for the robbery charge, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Lanza said Cox probably would remain in federal custody in Atlanta until a series of hearings there to establish his identity and remove the case to U.S. District Court in Kansas.

Sgt. Mike Pattrick, a Lawrence Police spokesman, said members of the department were pleased with the arrest but were never satisfied until a case ended in a conviction.

“The investigators and officers worked very hard on this case,” he said.

6News reporter Janet Reid contributed to this story.