Delaware State Police detectives have arrested a Wilmington woman in connection with two bank robberies that occurred in October, including one hold-up in Bear. She is believed to have used a Muslim burka to conceal her identity.
On Friday, detectives arrested Lashawnda Jones, 30, of north Pine Street in Wilmington, and charged her with robbery 1st degree, three counts of robbery 2nd degree, two counts of wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony, and conspiracy 2nd degree.
Jones is accused of robbing the TD Bank located on Songsmith Drive in Bear, on October 15th as well as the TD Bank located in the 2500 block of Marsh Road in Wilmington on October 22nd.
In the October 15th incident, Jones, who was disguised in a Muslim burka, entered the bank branch at approximately 5:15 p.m. and contacted a customer service representative. She then handed the representative a demand note for cash that implied that she was armed with a gun. The victim turned over an undisclosed amount of cash to Jones who then fled the bank. There were no injuries. During the robbery on October 22, Jones, again disguised in a Muslim burka, along with a second female suspect also wearing the same disguise, entered the TD Bank located on Marsh Road in north Wilmington at approximately 7:40 p.m. They then confronted a bank teller and presented a demand note for cash. After receiving an undisclosed amount of money, both suspects then fled. Again, there were no injuries.
Detectives were able to identify Jones as a suspect in both cases after a former state police robbery detective recognized her as the person he had arrested in 2004 for the same type of crimes using the same method.
Jones was arrested at her residence on Friday without incident. She was arraigned at JP Court 2 and committed to the Delores Baylor Correctional Center for lack of $41,000 secured bail. Jones is also wanted by authorities in Pennsylvania for the robbery of the TD Bank located at 1159 Wilmington Pike in Chester County Pennsylvania as well as by authorities in New Jersey for the robbery of the TD Bank located at 180 South Broadway Street in Pennsville, NJ.