photo by: Lawrence Police

Police released this image after a reported bank robbery at Bank of America Tuesday, July 2, 2024.

A Lawrence man has been charged with bank robbery in relation to a July 2 theft from a local bank, and a federal complaint details the weekslong investigation by local police and FBI agents that led to his arrest.

The man, Alfonzo Cole, 41, appeared in Douglas County District Court on two burglary charges Wednesday, when local prosecutors alerted the court that the federal indictment was expected, as the Journal-World reported.

The federal complaint, filed Wednesday, accuses Cole of robbing the Bank of America branch at 900 Ohio St. on the morning of July 2.

According to the indictment, a teller at the bank told authorities that as she was assisting another customer a man walked in and possibly tried to enter the secured area where the tellers were, but he did not get in. The man reportedly told her, “Give me all your money, don’t push any buttons.” And he added, “I’m not playing with you.”

The teller pushed the security alarm, then at the instruction of the bank manager, gave the man the money in her drawer, which she estimated to be approximately $3,000.

The man then fled the bank with a black bag.

Two mail carriers in the area reported a man wearing a black hoodie, sunglasses and face covering near the bank both before and after the incident. One of the mail carriers observed the man breathing heavily and running south from the bank, the complaint says.

Weeks after the robbery, authorities, using surveillance footage, pinpointed a vehicle of interest — a Ford Explorer — that was observed driving near the bank shortly before the robbery.

Investigators linked the car to a residence in the 1000 block of Ohio Street, which is just south of the bank, and discovered it was registered to a woman named Dariscia Rose McCallister, later identified by a close friend as Cole’s wife.

The friend, Shauna Shauntay Rodgers, told investigators that McCallister and Cole had been going through tough times and were several months behind on rent. She said McCallister had been staying with her due to “ongoing domestic disputes” between the the couple.

Rodgers said that Cole had worked at KFC and McCallister had been previously employed as the manager of Wingstop, 2233, Louisiana St., which Cole has been charged with burglarizing, along with Cenex Quick Stop at 1000 W. 23rd St., as the Journal-World reported.

Rodgers told authorities that Cole had arrived at her residence carrying a black bag that was “balled up” and containing an unknown item, which she said could have been U.S. currency, though she didn’t see inside. She said she told him he couldn’t stay at her house. When he departed, he left behind shoes that Rodgers believed matched those depicted in surveillance photos from the robbery that she was later shown.

Cole was arrested Monday at the KFC at 658 W. 23rd St., where he worked. Authorities noted tattoos on his arm that were consistent with those seen in the Cenex burglary.

According to the federal complaint, Cole confirmed in an interview with law enforcement that the person seen in the Wingstop surveillance footage was him and that he was there to get money for “personal financial struggles,” including a mother in ill health.

Cole did not deny that he was the person in the Cenex incident, but said “if I got some money, I wouldn’t be sitting here with y’all. I’d probably be gone,” according to the complaint.

When confronted with the bank robbery, Cole reportedly told the interviewers, “Man, I didn’t get no money, I would have been gone” and “I got a few dollars, it was a blooper.” He also allegedly said that he would be in Mexico right now if he had gotten more money from the bank.

The complaint states that Cole said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone, that Cole “appeared remorseful” and that he broke down in tears while speaking with interviewers.

Bank robbery is a federal crime punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than 20 years and a fine not to exceed $250,000.