Police arrest bank robbery suspect

A man detained soon after a robbery Monday at Peoples State Bank on East Winslow Road in Bloomington has been arrested and charged with two counts of robbery, a class C felony, and one count of resisting law enforcement, according to a press release from the Bloomington Police Department.

The first robbery charge to Christopher P. Sowers, 33, was a result of Monday’s offense that occurred at about 1 p.m. The second charge was for his attempt to rob the same bank at about 10:30 a.m. Sept. 5, according to the release.

Sowers was apprehended within 20 minutes of Monday’s robbery in a neighborhood north of the bank after a responding officer observed someone matching the suspect’s description running into a wooded area near Graham Drive.

Additional officers set up a perimeter in the area of the Winslow Farms subdivision, and the suspect was taken into custody on Laurelwood Court at about 1:18 p.m.

The resisting law enforcement charge was for Sowers fleeing from officers once he was
spotted.

Once apprehended and questioned by detectives, according to the release, it was determined that Sowers had been staying in a motel in the 1700 block of North Walnut Street.

A search warrant executed at that location resulted in the finding of the gold Marshall Faulk NFL jersey worn during the first robbery on Sept. 5.

A Superman shirt described in the robbery that took place Monday was located in a dumpster behind the Winslow Plaza shopping complex.

Other items of evidence connecting the suspect to both robberies were recovered, as was all of the money taken in Monday’s robbery.