x
Breaking News
More () »

Greenwood Village barricade suspect linked to 5 bank robberies over 6 months

Jonathan Martin Bell is suspected of robbing a Key Bank, shooting at a police officer and barricading in a hotel room for hours last week.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A man suspected of robbing a bank, shooting at a Greenwood Village Police officer and barricading himself for hours in a hotel room last week was also suspected in at least four more bank robberies over the past six months.

Jonathan Martin Bell, 29, was arrested Thursday and was being held on $1 million bail on suspicion of several potential felony charges after the robbery of a Key Bank at Arapahoe Road and Clinton Street.

According to the affidavit in the case, Bell was also suspected in four other bank robberies in Aurora and Denver with total losses of about $29,200:

  • July 30: Commerce Bank, 15305 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora
  • Sept. 1: Commerce Bank, 15305 E. Colfax, Ave., Aurora
  • Oct. 3: UMB Bank, 1635 E. Colfax Ave., Denver
  • Oct. 19: US Bank, 2456 S. Parker Road, Aurora

In three of the robberies, the robber displayed a gun, while in the fourth, he passed a note to the teller saying he had a gun. The robber was believed to be the same person in each of the robberies based on his description, clothes and technique, the affidavit says.

In the Key Bank robbery in Greenwood Village, the robber pointed a gun and demanded a bank employee open a vault and fill his backpack with money. 

The man left the bank with $66,080 in $20 bills. Some of the money included a GPS tracker, according to the affidavit.

When a Greenwood Village Police officer arrived on scene, he saw a man in a camouflage jacket leave the bank and run south through the parking lot toward a Target store. He chased the man, who fired at the officer with a handgun. The officer returned fire, the affidavit says.

The man ran into an Extended Stay Hotel, and officers set up a perimeter around the hotel. Bell was a registered guest at the hotel in Room 327, and the GPS tracker embedded with the stolen cash showed it was in that room, according to the affidavit.

The Extended Stay Hotel and a nearby Sleep Inn were evacuated by 1:45 p.m., police said.

Police closed roads in the area of South Clinton Street and East Costilla Avenue for the incident. An emergency alert was sent out, according to the Greenwood Village Police Department.

Police said Bell surrendered at 5:51 p.m., after three and a half hours of negotiations, and was taken into custody.

Credit: Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office
Jonathan Martin Bell

Bell was previously arrested in February 2015 in Aurora. He was convicted in Arapahoe County in 2016 on charges including theft, aggravated robbery with a weapon, fraud and assault, court records show.

He was sentenced in July 2016 to 16 years in prison and was on parole, state Department of Corrections records show.

He was due in court on Wednesday for the filing of charges and was being held on suspicion of:

  • Kidnapping
  • Attempted first-degree murder
  • First-degree assault on a peace officer
  • Aggravated robbery
  • Theft
  • Menacing with a deadly weapon

The 18th Judicial District's Critical Incident Response Team will investigate the shots fired by the officer, police said.

SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS



Before You Leave, Check This Out