BETTENDORF, Iowa -- Two Geneseo men were arrested within 10 minutes of an armed robbery being reported at U.S. Bank in Bettendorf.
Police were called to the bank's Middle Road branch just after 10 a.m. Thursday, April 18, according to a statement from the City of Bettendorf. As investigators responded, a detective saw someone "throwing suspicious items into a dumpster" near Tanglefoot Lane and Golden Valley Drive.
That person, identified as 41-year-old Christopher L. Schultz, then got into the passenger seat of a vehicle that took off on Golden Valley Drive, said the statement. Police pulled that vehicle over in the 900 block of Golden Valley Drive and took Schultz and the driver, 21-year-old Benjamin D. Watkins, into custody.
According to an affidavit, Watkins was charged with first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit a forcible felony and third-degree theft. Schultz was charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree theft, and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony.
In addition, Schultz was charged with first-degree robbery for a robbery at IH Mississippi Valley Credit Union that happened on March 23.
The Davenport Police Department has filed first-degree robbery charges against Schultz for a robbery that happened at DuTrac Credit Union on Kimberly Road in Davenport on February 16.
The FBI is working with area police departments where similar bank robberies have occurred.