Pair to face trial in Mt. Morris Township armed, bank robbery an - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(11/13/12) - Two Genesee County men now face trials for an armed bank robbery in Mt. Morris Township last month.

Demario Banks, 21, and Denzel Berry, 17, were in court Tuesday for preliminary exams. They face 17 charges between the both of them including armed robbery, bank robbery and assault with intent to murder.

67th District Court Judge Mark Latchana bound them over to circuit court for trial after hearing testimony. 

Citizens Bank employee Chaz Pray described a pretty intense situation inside the West Pierson Road branch the day it was robbed - October 30.

It was the third time he'd been robbed in his five years with Citizens Bank.

"He started counting as 1...2...3...," says Chaz Pray. "He said 'at 10 I'm shooting.'"
 
Pray says one of the suspects wanted him to open one of the bank's vaults.  

"It takes me two or three times on a normal morning so I'm just hoping that the first time it goes through," he says.

It didn't.

"At that time, one of the perpetrators actually places the gun to my head and says 'Is this enough incentive for you?'"

Police believe it was Banks who had the gun on Pray.

"At about seven he then fled," Pray says.

Police believe Berry was the gunman on Pray's co-worker, Ellen Moffit, that morning.

"He grabbed me by the sweater and pointed the gun at me and said, 'Take me to the vault,'" Moffit says.

Police have said the pair got away with about $30,000 before officers arrested them. Most of the money has been recovered.

Pray waited until his co-workers said they were gone and he went to lock the lobby door. He noticed a car was backed up to the front.

"I started reading off the license plate number to whoever would write it down," Pray says.

Police were already very close by. Someone inside of the bank had managed to get on a cell phone and call 911.

Genesee County Sheriff's Department Deputy Mohamad Sanchez was nearby when the call was dispatched. He says he observed a black car in front of the bank and two men with masks running around inside.

Sanchez says he watched them come out of bank. He had his gun drawn. They dove in the car, he says, and took off, hitting an unmarked cruiser on the way out of the lot.

Genesee County Sheriff's Department Deputy Chris McNamara was on his way to the bank when he observed a black car coming at him.

"In order to avoid a head on collision with that vehicle, I moved my police cruiser into the left hand turn lane of West Pierson and came to a stop in the roadway," McNamara says.

"That black Oldsmobile continued westbound, appeared to swerve at me, did collide and then continued westbound," McNamara says.

The car then crashed into a utility pole. Banks and Berry were arrested after a brief foot chase.

Police continue to investigate whether they can be connected to other bank robberies. They remain in the Genesee County Jail.