North Canton woman federally indicted in 4 bank robberies

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A North Canton woman faces four felony counts of bank robbery, accused of stealing more than $12,500 from four banks since December 2016.

Fellicia Smith, 41, of North Canton, was indicted Nov. 9 and arraigned Wednesday. She remains in the Mahoning County jail pending a detention hearing set for next week.

Smith is accused of holding up the Fifth Third Bank in Kent on Dec. 24, 2016; the First National Bank on Tippecanoe Road in Boardman on Feb. 18, 2017; the Key Bank on Belmont Avenue in Liberty Township on March 31, 2017; and the Key Bank on Tiffin Avenue in Findlay on April 3, 2017, according to a release from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Smith reportedly showed each bank teller a knife and demanded cash, according to the release. The indictment states Smith stole more than $12,500 between the four robberies.

Police said in September 2017 Smith was a suspect in at least a dozen bank robberies in Northeast Ohio.

Officers arrested Smith June 9, 2017, after she attempted to rob the First National Bank inside the Giant Eagle grocery store along Belmont Avenue. At the time, she wore a hat, sunglasses and a bandanna to conceal her face.

Police believe Smith didn’t finish the June 9 robbery, and later found a note containing instructions for the teller, as well as a knife and a hammer in Smith’s purse.

The FBI conducted the investigation. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter E. Daly.