Robbery case bound over
Mar. 18—LIMA — The case against a Lima man who allegedly robbed the Union Bank on the east side of town on March 8 had his case bound on Wednesday.
Brandon Allen, Sr., 36, was present in Lima Municipal Court for his preliminary hearing in Judge Richard Warren's room. Seated next to his defense attorney Steve Chamberlain, Allen increasingly appeared to grow frustrated with the direction the hearing was going, shaking his head in defiance as Lima Police Officer Jesse Harrod testified to the department's findings during the investigation.
Allen's aggravation finally spilled over after Judge Warren found probable cause and ordered the case to be bound over and the defendant remanded. Warren set bond at $150,000 when Allen interrupted the proceeding by blurting out, "can I just ask a question?" which Warren shot down sternly telling Allen in no uncertain terms that he is to speak through Chamberlain.
Harrod testified to finding crumpled up money as well as money that he described as crisp and like new. The most damning evidence that Harrod recalled in court was finding a crumpled-up checkbook carbon paper that he says matched the note written in the robbery.
Chamberlain tried to create doubt in his cross-examination of Harrod and tried to build a case that allegations against his client were largely circumstantial. He asked Harrod if he knew whether or not the bills had been marked by the bank, to which the detective responded to his knowledge they were not. Chamberlain also remarked that with just a small piece of carbon paper you could make it into whatever you wanted.
During the investigation, LPD officers executed a search warrant a few blocks away at 953 Bellefontaine St. in their search for Allen. According to Harrod, Brandon Allen Sr., 36, was arrested in the area of Jameson and State streets after leading police officers on a foot chase.
Officers responded to a report of a robbery at the Union Bank, 1410 Bellefontaine St., Lima. Officers learned a man wearing a surgical mask entered the bank, said he had a gun and demanded all the money from the drawer and safe. He left with an unknown amount of money.
