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Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department Public Information officer Chad Hill reported deputies responded to a “hold-up” alarm at the Mentone branch of Lake City Bank at 11:09 a.m. Wednesday. The bank is located on Ind. 25 (East Main Street) in Mentone.
While officers were enroute, they were provided with a description of the suspect who allegedly robbed a bank teller after displaying a weapon. Officers were also advised of a potential residence that the individual had fled to on foot. Officers from the Mentone Police Department and the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department surrounded the address at 211 North Tucker Street, Mentone, and were subsequently allowed to enter by one of the residents.
Deputies located the alleged suspect, identified as Bernie Joe Montileaux, 37, and took him into custody at gunpoint without incident.
Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department detectives located the weapon used, along with an undisclosed amount of cash that was reportedly taken during the bank robbery. Detectives said, “concerned citizens were imperative in facilitating the arrest made today.”
Montileaux was arrested and preliminarily charged with felony robbery with a weapon and is currently being held on a prosecutorial hold in the Kosciusko County Jail.
