Difference Of Opinion On Effectiveness Of Security Guards During Bank Robbery
DENVER (CBS4) - In the case of three armed men in masks robbing a First Bank in Lakewood Nov. 18, there is no mention of security guards.
The two men in custody for last week's violent bank robbery, carjackings, and shootings went before a judge on Wednesday.
Miguel David Sanders and Tyrone Richardson were ordered held $1 million bond. Sanders was formally charged with 35 counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault.
A woman who said she is a friend of Sanders spoke to reporters as she left the courtroom.
When asked what happened, the woman responded, "To be honest I don't know." When asked if she thought of Sanders as a good guy, she answered that she felt Sanders is a good person because she had known him a long time.
A man who said he was a brother of Sanders was also there, and did not have much to say to reporters.
The third suspect, Myloh Mason, still has not been found and has been linked to six bank robberies since last April, according to his arrest warrant. In several of those robberies, masks were worn, the suspects were armed, and there were accomplices.
The Colorado Bankers Association told CBS4 there is a difference of opinion on whether guards help prevent bank hold ups.
At the First Bank on South Kipling Parkway and Jewell Avenue, where the robbery occurred a week earlier, there was a security guard present.
At a Wells Fargo nearby, other forms of security were in place.
Laura Worzella, Wells Fargo area president, said "We have specific security protocols in place and since it is proprietary information that is not something I am willing to share."
In a bank robbery last year, a guard knocked the money out of the robber's hands. Still, the robber got away in that case.
In another incident two years ago, a robber was shot to death by an off-duty Denver police officer working as a security guard.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.
