Robbery suspects nabbed

Incident forced a New Madrid County elementary school into a lockdown

LILBOURN -- Three suspects are in custody for robbing a New Madrid County bank this weekend.

According to the New Madrid County Sheriff's Department, at 1:21 p.m. Friday officers received a call reporting the Bank of New Madrid, located at 300 Dawson and Third streets in Lilbourn, had been robbed and three male suspects had fled west on foot. Because this was in the vicinity of Lilbourn Elementary, the school was locked down for about an hour. Authorities also learned gunshots were fired outside the bank.

Police caught two men fairly quickly. A third suspect was apprehended around 5 p.m. while hiding in a group of trees in Lilbourn.

Between $1,300 and $1,500 was taken. Most of the money, which was found in two locations, was recovered.

No one was injured in the incident although one officer was treated for heat exhaustion.

Providing assistance to New Madrid County Sheriff's Department were: the Lilbourn Police Department, the New Madrid Police Department, Marston Police Department, Portageville Police Department, Sikeston Department of Public Safety, Scott County Sheriff's Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Major Case Squad, the Scott County K-9 Unit and the FBI.

"We worked hard together. Everyone that worked out there was awesome," said Julia York, a dispatcher for the New Madrid County Sheriff's Department.

The suspects are being held in the New Madrid County Jail.

Formal charges were still pending as of press time, and the suspects' names had not yet been released.