Two men arrested in string of recent bank robberies, police officials say
Two men have been arrested for a string of at least nine area bank robberies in the past two months, Madison Police Chief Mike Koval said at a news conference Friday.
Koval said it is unlikely the two are connected to Luis Narvaez, 35, of South Milwaukee, who was shot and killed Thursday while allegedly robbing a Chase Bank at 4513 Milwaukee St.
Jonathan L. Thompson, 29, of Fitchburg, and Kiefah A. Marbra, 18, face tentative charges of armed robbery following a joint investigation by Madison, Fitchburg, Middleton and Sun Prairie police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the state Department of Justice Division of Criminal investigation.
“I can for sure feel euphoric and happy that we made made some stride and breakthroughs,” Koval said. “Of course, when there’s a loss of life in the commission of yet another bank robbery, no one wants to see that as an end game.”
According to Madison police, Thompson and Marbra are believed to have been involved in robberies at:
Old National Bank, 216 Cottage Grove Road, at 9:15 a.m. Jan. 8.Chase Bank, 4513 Milwaukee St., at 4:45 p.m. Jan. 26.Associated Bank, 3002 Fish Hatchery Road, Fitchburg, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 30.Old National Bank, 302 N. Midvale Blvd., 12:30 p.m. Feb. 2.Associated Bank, 1720 Monroe St., 10:30 a.m. Feb. 8.Old National Bank, 1516 W. Main St., Sun Prairie, 11:45 a.m. Feb. 13.Associated Bank, 2420 Allen Blvd., Middleton, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 19.Wells Fargo Bank, 6622 University Ave., Middleton, 12:15 p.m. Feb. 22.U.S. Bank, 4602 East Towne Blvd., 2 p.m. Feb. 22.
A criminal complaint filed Thursday against Thompson in Dane County Circuit Court charges him with one count of being a party to a crime of robbery of a financial institution in connection with the Feb. 19 robbery at Associated Bank in Middleton.
According to the complaint:
Video showed the robber fleeing over a fence between the bank and an apartment complex. A Middleton surveillance camera nearby at 6333 Pheasant Lane showed a tan sedan had parked shortly before the robbery, and a man who matched the description of the robber got out of the front passenger side of the car and walked toward the bank.
The sedan left its parking spot and drove to Maywood Avenue, where video from Lakeview Village Apartments showed the driver parked again. The same passenger got back into the car shortly after the robbery.
More than $5,000 was taken during the robbery.
On Feb. 26, a Dane County sheriff’s deputy saw a vehicle matching the description from the video and recorded the license plate.
The vehicle, a Pontiac Bonneville, was registered to Thompson’s mother.
Thompson, who has several convictions for unrelated crimes according to online court records, was wearing a GPS monitoring ankle bracelet under Dane County’s bail monitoring program.
Records from his ankle bracelet show Thompson near the Associated Bank around the time of the robbery.
A jail booking photo of Thompson showed he matched the description of the driver of the sedan near the crime scene.
Records also placed Thompson near seven of the eight other robberies cited by police, the exception being the Jan. 8 robbery of the Old National Bank on Cottage Grove Road.
For the charge, Thompson could face up to 40 years of combined prison and extended supervision.
A complaint had not been filed against Marbra.
Koval said more arrests could be made in relation to the string of robberies.