43
Case bound over for West Side bank robbery suspect
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
The lead investigator in the robbery of a West Side bank in April said Friday the two suspects stole an SUV from a nearby fast-food restaurant then returned the SUV to the Mahoning Plaza.
Detective Sgt. Michael Lambert, lead investigator in the April 28 robbery of the PNC Bank branch on Meridan Road, said at a preliminary hearing in municipal court for Michael Zarlingo, 55, that video from a nearby Burger King on Meridan Road shows Zarlingo and the other man charged in the robbery, Rickie Gonzalez, 51, taking keys from a counter for the SUV that was used in the robbery.
Lambert said the video from the Burger King shows the two wearing the same clothes as the men who robbed the bank, but in the restaurant video their faces were not covered as they were when in the bank.
“We were able to identify within moments of the robbery the men who robbed the bank,” Lambert said.
Judge Elizabeth Kobly bound a charge of aggravated robbery against Zarlingo over to a Mahoning County grand jury after the hearing. Gonzalez has not yet had his hearing.
Both men were arrested at the Mountaineer casino in West Virginia the night after the robbery. Lambert said when arrested, Zarlingo had two “bait bills,” or bills that are marked by banks in case they are ever taken in a robbery; and Gonzalez had one. A total of six of those bills were taken, Lambert said.
The bank esitmated $4,700 was taken during the robbery, Lambert said.
Lambert said he was interviewing witnesses at the bank when patrol officers spotted the SUV that was used in the robbery at the Mahoning Plaza. He went to the plaza, and officers found a hat that was used as a ski mask in the robbery, and while there found out the SUV belonged to an employee of the Burger King, which is right next to the plaza.
The employee was questioned and denied having anything to do with the robbery. Lambert said that employee was busy and dropped her keys on the counter and did not discover her vehicle was gone until she stepped outside on a break. When Lambert checked the video, he could see Gonzalez and Zarlingo take the keys. Lambert said the two drove the SUV back to their car and drove away in that.
An assistant manager at the bank testified that two men came in just before 4 p.m. April 28 and yelled for everyone to get their hands in the air. The manager said they wore masks over their faces, and their arms and legs were covered with clothing. One of the men had a sawed-off shotgun and the other jumped over the counter, collected bills from several teller windows, then jumped back over the counter. The two then ran away. The manager testified the two were inside the bank for about a minute.