Competency questioned for 74-year-old bank robbery suspect
May 28—A forensic psychological evaluation has been ordered for a 74-year-old Hamilton woman charged with robbing a credit union after her defense attorney questioned her competency to stand trial.
Investigators said Ann Mayers removed the license plate from her car on April 19, drove from Hamilton to a credit union, robbed it — getting less than $1,000 — drove to a store to make a return and then home, where she was in the backyard when police closed in on her as a suspect, according to the the Fairfield Twp. Police report.
The Parrish Avenue woman with no criminal history was arrested less than two hours after allegedly robbing AurGroup Credit Union on Creekside Drive in Fairfield Twp. She is charged with aggravated robbery, including use of a gun, a first-degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.
Mayers was in Butler County Common Pleas Court last week for a pretrial hearing where Judge Dan Haughey ordered the evaluation. She is scheduled to be back in court July 16 for a hearing on the results.
Bond is set at $100,000, and Mayers remains housed in the Butler County Jail.
Detective Brandon McCroskey said Mayers had financial issues and after talking with family, she may have been scammed out of "a lot of money."
According to the police report, when officers arrived at her house, Mayers was with her sister. She said, "I know why you're here."
When the officer said "Why is that?," Mayers replied, "The bank, AurGroup, I did it."
Mayers made the statement recorded on the officer's body camera at 3:06 p.m., less than two hours after the robbery was reported at 1:31 p.m..
Mayers told officers where to find the stolen cash, totaling $568 in a Kroger bag attached to the shift knob and the loaded Colt. 38 caliber revolver under the driver's seat.
Credit union employees said the robber had two bags, one of which carried a visible gun.
Mayers said she took the license plate off the vehicle before the robbery and threw out a bag, clothing and mask she was wearing. Police were unable to find the clothing after tracking her route after the robbery, which included a trip to Kohl's to return some jeans, according to the police report.
The sister told police Mayers was scammed out of thousands of dollars from someone online, according to the police report. The sister also sent information to detectives about a person to whom she believed persuaded Mayers to send money.
"This person allegedly told Ann that they are with U.S. Customs," detectives wrote in the report.
