Tuesday, January 10, 2006
PHOTOS
A 10-hour standoff with two armed bank robbers ended Tuesday with their hostage rescued, one of the suspects killed by a sniper and the other arrested, said
Sheriff Bob Hansell.
A sniper killed the male suspect, while the other robber, a woman, was in custody, Hansell said.
The standoff at the Mercantile Bank , a mile west of the Disney theme park, started at approximately 9:45 a.m. and ended at 7:45 p.m., Hansell said.
The robbers fled the bank with a hostage after sheriff's deputies threw a some sort of explosive device to distract them into the back of the bank and the robbers ran out the door. They used the female hostage as a shield to jump into a silver Lexus owned by a bank employee, said Hansell.
After a brief car chase, which ended because of barricaded streets, the robbers were trapped in the vehicle whose were flattened by authorities.
"He used the hostage again as a shield to get into another vehicle," Hansell said of the male robber. "He tried to leave again and at that point he was taken down by one of our snipers."
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Hansell said the hostages were treated well and had no complaints or threats of violence.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain said the alleged robbers appeared to be a man and woman wearing disguises, heavy coats, masks and wigs.
Traffic in the tourist area ground to halt after deputies cordoned off the area.
As a result, several families in town for Disney visits were stuck in the area hotels and nearby restaurants were all but deserted.
Lizasuain said none of the three previously released hostages were hurt, and the suspects have said they don't intend to harm anyone. She said at least one of the robbers was armed, but did not specify a weapon.
The released hostages, two women and a man, were let go hours apart — the first woman after the robbers panicked when deputies arrived so quickly after the robbery, Lizasuain said.
The man was released about three hours later in exchange for cigarettes, and the second woman was released just before 3 p.m. after deputies agreed to back their vehicles a few feet away from the bank, Lizasuain said.
The last hostage was a female employee. Lizasuain said the suspects wanted deputies to open up roads for her release, but that request was denied.
Lizasuain said the released hostages were shaken, but recovering.
Julie Flores, the front desk clerk at a Quality Inn within sight of the bank, said several guests were getting restless after being stuck inside much of the day. She said families weren't confined to their rooms, but couldn't leave the hotel after police shut down the area.
Sam Hamade, manager at Giordano's Pizza across the street from the bank, said his store couldn't even make its scheduled 10 a.m. opening because roads were already closed off.
"People are calling for deliveries, and we cannot deliver," he said, adding that the shutdown cost an estimated $12,000-$13,000 in lost business.
Meanwhile, Valerie Balkeway, who lives near the bank, said the area was safe.
"I feel very safe walking around here," Balkeway. "If it hadn't been the suspect being killed, it would have been the hostage."
Calls to the bank were routed to a Mercantile call center, where a woman said she had no additional information.
Mercantile Bank is a subsidiary of the South Carolina-based South Financial Group, which issued a statement saying:
"The police are in charge of this situation. We are cooperating fully and in every possible way. Our concerns are for our employees."
Map of Florida highlighting Osceola County

Two suspected robbers west of Kissimmee, Florida released one hostage after negotiating with sheriffs' deputies. Other hostages remain inside, authorities say. Police later shot and killed one bank robber and arrested a second on after a 10 hour stand-off with police. "A sniper shot the male suspect while the female was in custody", said Osceola County Sheriff Bob Hansell. Four hostages were not injured.

The suspects had escaped the Mercantile Bank, a mile west of Walt Disney World's Wide World of Sports, with one hostage after authorities blasted through the rear door using an explosive device. But police soon cornered them in their getaway car, authorities said. The male suspect then "used the hostage again as a shield to get into another vehicle," Hansell said. "He tried to leave again and at that point he was taken down by one of our snipers."

Deputies had been using cell phones to negotiate with the suspects, who were wearing masks, wigs and coats.

Around 7:15 p.m. EST, police blasted through the bank's rear door. The suspects escaped with a female hostage and drove away in a bank employee's car, but they traveled less than a mile before street barricades stopped them. Shots were fired at deputies but nobody was hurt, police said. 

The suspects had been holed up in the bank since Tuesday morning. The first hostage was released when the robbers panicked when deputies arrived so quickly after the robbery, said sheriff's spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain. The second was freed in exchange for cigarettes and the third after deputies agreed to back their vehicles a few feet farther away from the bank, Lizasuain said.

Police did not release the names the hostages, but the suspects were identified Wednesday as a 50-year-old male, Gaetano Alessandrello, and a 26-year old woman, Amanda Lynn Moeller. It was not immediately clear whether the suspects ever got any money. Tourists near the bank, in hotels, were confined to them for hours as police asked them "to stay indoors".
The hostages said they were treated well and were not threatened with violence, Hansell said.

The same bank was robbed just 2 months ago on November 16, 2005. It is unclear if the two robberies are connected or not.