INDICTMENT IN CULLMAN COUNTY BANK ROBBERY

BIRMINGHAM, AL - An indictment was filed today in U.S. District Court charging ANDREW EDWARD SPEARS, II, with bank robbery. Specifically, the indictment charges that SPEARS robbed the Compass Bank of Cullman, Alabama, on February 4, 2006.

It is alleged that SPEARS, 40 of Logan, Alabama, entered the Compass Bank in Cullman and demanded money. He then fled the bank with approximately $8,000, and was apprehended by the Cullman Police Department shortly after the robbery.

The penalty for bank robbery is not more than 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

This case was investigated by the Cullman County Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney David H. Estes is prosecuting this matter on behalf of the U.S. Government.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.