By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A federal grand jury has indicted a 38-year-old Salem man on charges of robbing several banks throughout northern and central Alabama in early 2013, including a robbery in Pelham.

The grand jury indicted Jimmy Dawson Cunningham Jr. with five counts of robbery in connection with a string of bank robberies between Jan. 3-14. Cunningham has been charged with robbing the National Bank of Commerce on Shades Creek Parkway in Birmingham on Jan. 3, the PNC Bank on Euclid Avenue in Mountain Brook on Jan. 8, the First Community Bank in Cullman’s Marktplatz Center on Jan. 10, the Regions Bank on Culver Road in Mountain Brook on Jan. 10 and the Union State Bank on U.S. 31 on Jan. 14.

If convicted of the crimes, Cunningham could face up to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each charge.

At about 10:15 a.m. on Jan. 14, the Pelham Police Department received a report of an alarm at the Union State Bank at 2267 U.S. 31, according to police Capt. Larry Palmer.

After responding to the scene, officers learned a white male had entered the bank, presented a note to a teller and fled the scene with an undetermined amount of cash, Palmer said.

Palmer said a weapon “was implied but never seen” during the robbery. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Cunningham entered a plea of “by reason of mental disease or defect” on Jan. 4, according to court documents.