Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Columbus Men Indicted in Charges for Seven Armed Robberies
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged Lawrence W. Bell, Jr., 30, and Chad A. Titpton, 19, both of Columbus, with charges related to seven bank, restaurant and business robberies in Ohio in an indictment returned in Columbus.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Donald J. Soranno, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Field Division, Reynoldsburg Police Chief Jim O’Neill, Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs, Springfield Police Chief Stephen P. Moody, Chillicothe Police Chief Keith Washburn, Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen, Zanesville Police Chief Kenneth Miller, Mount Vernon Police Chief Roger A. Monroe, Delaware Police Chief Bruce Pijanowski and Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Paul Pride announced the indictment returned yesterday.
The indictment alleges that Bell committed armed robberies at the Fifth Third Bank in Springfield, Ohio; Century National Bank in Zanesville, Ohio; First Service Federal Credit Union in Reynoldsburg, Ohio; Cooper State Bank in Columbus, Ohio; First Service Federal Credit Union in Mount Vernon, Ohio and Fifth Third Bank in Chillicothe, Ohio.
He is also charged with five counts of using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
Tipton also allegedly took part in the robbery at Cooper State Bank in Columbus, Ohio, including using a firearm in relation to the crime.
Robbery involving a deadly weapon is a crime punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence carries a maximum penalty of up to life in prison.
Bell is in custody and there is a warrant for Tipton’s arrest.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation of this case by law enforcement, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Prichard, who is prosecuting the case.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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