Report: Police found rolls of cash, mask, heroin in Muncie bank robbery suspects' car
MUNCIE, Ind. — Muncie police reported recovering rolls of cash, a mask and a substance believed to be heroin from the car of a local couple arrested in connection with an eastside bank robbery.
According to an affidavit, the car — a red Subaru station wagon — was observed near the First Merchants Bank, 101 S. Country Club Road, about the time a robbery was reported there shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Rodney L. Conatser, 51, and his 41-year-old wife, Amanda N. Conatser, were taken into custody about 10 a.m. Wednesday after a traffic stop involving the Subaru in the 3600 block of North Briarwood Lane.
Both face preliminary counts of armed robbery and possession of a narcotic drug.
More: Muncie couple held in bank robbery investigation
According to the affidavit:
A masked bandit who entered the eastside bank gave a teller a note that read, "Give me all of the money, no paint bombs, or I will shoot."
Witnesses said the man — wearing a mask that only partially covered his face — had a "red stripe" over his nose, and police determined Rodney Conatser had a "red abrasion" on the side of his nose.
The station wagon, with what appeared to be a black cloth covering its license plate, was observed leaving the area of the bank, via a gravel path, soon after the robbery.
Selma and Ball State University police, and Delaware County sheriff's deputies, assisted Muncie officers in searching for the Subaru in the wake of Tuesday's holdup.
A Selma officer later saw a Subaru station wagon outside a convenience store at Burlington and Memorial drives.
According to Muncie police detectives, a surveillance video at that location showed Rodney Conatser removing the covering from the license plate, and also removing a "large about of cash from his pocket" when he purchased cigarettes.
Investigators determined the car was registered to Amanda Conatser, and that her husband was the target of a pending warrant in LaGrange County, stemming from a conviction for failing to pay child support.
Officers determined the Conatsers checked into the Quality Inn and Suites on Everbrook Lane shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday. Their vehicle was observed outside the hotel by Ball State police.
After the traffic stop that led to the couple's arrests, their vehicle was searched and officers found a jacket and mask that matched the description what the bank robber was wearing at the time of the holdup. Also recovered were a "large amount of cash," some of it in rolls, and a plastic bag containing about two grams of a substance believed to be heroin.
Also seized was $650 in cash found in Amanda Conatser's purse.
"After being detained on Briarwood, Amanda had to be transported to (IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital for exhibiting signs of an opiate overdose," the report said.
Rodney Conatser, also facing a preliminary count of driving while suspended, was being held in the Delaware County jail on Friday under a $70,000 bond. His wife's bond was set at $35,000.
Rodney Conatser's record includes convictions for robbery — stemming from an October 1995 holdup at a southside Pizza King restaurant — and dealing in meth.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Report: Rolls of cash, mask and jacket link suspects to Muncie robbery
