Charleston, Missouri Cousins Charged with Bank Robbery

On January 11, 2011, Richard Anderson, 20, and Holli Wrice, 32, both of Charleston, Missouri, were indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Benton, Illinois, in a two-count indictment charging them: in count one with armed bank robbery of the Capaha Bank, 145 Russell Ave, Tamms, Illinois, on November 6, 2008, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 2113; and in count two with use of a firearm during a crime of violence, that is the bank robbery alleged in count one, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c), Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today.

The Indictment was unsealed after Anderson, who was arrested in Florida on December 25, 2010, made his first appearance in United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on February 9, 2011. On February 14, 2010, following a hearing, he was ordered detained pending trial which is set for March 8, 2011, at Benton. Wrice, who is also in custody, is scheduled to make her first appearance on the charges on February 25, 2011, in United States District Court, Benton, Illinois, at 8:45 a.m.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, and the Illinois State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Michael C. Carr is handling the prosecution.