Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 34-year-old Mark Edward Neal for using a fake pipe bomb while robbing the AmTrust bank late yesterday afternoon, making off with over $5,000 in cash.
Sheriff’s Communication received a 911 call indicating that the AmTrust bank at Dell Web Boulevard and Bell Road in Peoria had been robbed by a man, whose face was covered by a bandana. The suspect entered the bank and demanded money from a teller, revealing a purported pipe bomb that he threatening to detonate unless the teller complied with his demand. The teller gave the suspect money, along with a GPS tracking device hidden among the bills. The man then left the bank and sped off in a gray SUV.
Sheriff’s deputies, using the information provided by both witnesses at the bank and the GPS tracking device, quickly located the suspect’s home near 107th Ave and Union Hills at 19216 N. Joy Lane, just a mile and half from the bank.
Sheriff’s deputies, with the assistance of Peoria PD, immediately surrounded the suspect’s home and located Neal in the backyard and immediately detained him. Neal quickly denied any involvement and stated that it was his co-worker, located inside his residence, who was responsible. The Sheriff’s SWAT team was deployed and made entry into the home, finding no one else inside, and no signs of explosives.
In an interview with Sheriff’s detectives, Neal later admitted to robbing the bank, saying he needed the money to move to Indiana, where his kids and ex-wife live. Neal admitted rigging a fake device, made from PVC and an electronic cigarette, to look like a pipe bomb. Neal also told deputies that he had planned on robbing the Wells Fargo Bank, near 107th and Bell, staking it out for three nights, but decided on the AmTrust bank instead.
Neal was booked into the 4th Avenue Jail for Burglary, Theft, Armed Robbery, and Misconduct Involving Weapons. He is currently held on no bond pending his initial appearance court.