Duo indicted in connection with Alabaster Regions robbery
Published 3:40 pm Tuesday, July 27, 2010
A federal grand jury indicted a pair of men July 27 in connection with a May robbery of Alabaster’s Regions Bank.
The grand jury indicted 26-year-old Alabaster resident Nathan Parke Bateman and 25-year-old Meridian, Miss., resident Robert Andre Morton on armed bank robbery charges and federal firearm violations.
The indictments came about two months after the Regions Bank off U.S. 31 was robbed at gunpoint.
Following the robbery, Alabaster and Pelham police officers, Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents set up a perimeter around the county and began searching for the pair of suspects.
Shortly after the robbery, an Alabaster Police officer spotted the suspects’ vehicle and pulled the car over. The suspects were then arrested following a brief foot chase, and officers recovered the stolen money from the vehicle.
“Innocent people’s lives were put at risk when two gunmen robbed the Alabaster bank in May,” U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance wrote in a press release. “Alabaster Police are to be commended for their quick and effective response, which led to the immediate capture of the two suspects.”
If convicted of the robbery, Morton could face up to 32 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Because Bateman had a felony conviction prior to the robbery, he could face up to 42 years in jail and a $500,000 fine if convicted of the May robbery.