Eldon bank robbery suspect arrested in Alabama

Russell E. Cooper charged with robbery of Citizens Bank in Eldon early this summer

A suspect charged with robbing Citizens Bank in Eldon earlier this summer was arrested in Alabama Wednesday.

According to Miller County Prosecuting Attorney Benjamin Winfrey, federal law enforcement officers arrested Russell Eugene Cooper, 52, on or about Oct. 19 in Alabama on a criminal warrant issued by the Miller County Circuit Court.

Cooper was charged on Sept. 8 with one count of a class B felony of second degree robbery pertaining to the alleged robbery of the Eldon Citizens Bank south location on July 18, and a warrant was issued for his arrest the same day. A class B felony is punishable by five to 15 years in prison.

Winfrey said Cooper is in custody in Alabama in lieu of $75,000 cash or surety bond on that charge. However, it is Winfrey's understanding Cooper has pending charges originating in Alabama unrelated to his Miller County case.

According to a probable cause statement filed on Cooper's case in Miller County, the Eldon Police Department responded to a report of a bank robbery in progress at Citizens Bank in Eldon on July 18. Once officers arrived at the scene, the bank had been robbed and the suspect had fled on foot.

A bank teller stated she was helping a customer at the drive-thru window when she noticed a man in an orange shirt wrapped around his head with only his eyes visible. The man approached her and displayed a note that was written on a paper towel and said to her, "hurry, hurry, everything, everything," the probable cause statement said.

The teller said she gave the man everything she had in the drawer except what the man had dropped on the counter. The man had stole $9,705 during the bank robbery, according to the bank officials.

Multiple witness interviews led officers to identify Cooper as the robbery suspect, according to the probable cause statement. Witnesses had also stated they were in fear of their life and that Cooper is "violent and dangerous," the statement said.

Winfrey and the Miller County Attorney's Office wants to thank the Eldon Police Department and federal law enforcement for their efforts on this case.