MINNEAPOLIS– Five Minnesota men were indicted Oct. 10 on federal bank robbery charges. Four of them are charged with holding up the Farmer and Merchants State Bank of Alpha, located in Alpha, Minn., and the fifth was charged with a robbery at a TCF Bank in St. Paul.

Charged in connection with the Alpha robbery were Voravong Koubandonh, 32, an illegal immigrant living in Jackson; Robert Allen Eskelson, 22, Northfield; Gary John Percival, 21, Medford; and Jeremiah Keith Billings, 19, Kilkenny. Each were indicted on one count of bank robbery.

According to court documents, Billings and Percival allegedly entered the bank on Sept. 10, 2007, wearing ski masks, hooded sweatshirts and gloves, and announced the robbery. One man held a handgun, while the second man leaped over the counter and grabbed an undisclosed amount of cash. The two left the bank on foot.

Witnesses told police they thought the two men left the scene on either a dirt bike or motorcycle, while others talked of a van and a gray vehicle. During a search of the area, police found a motorcycle just off a rural road in a field. Tracks from a vehicle were also spotted in the same area, so police notified nearby agencies about the van.

A van matching the description was stopped by police in Spirit Lake, Iowa, after witnesses told officers they saw a bag thrown out of the passenger window. The bag was recovered, and it contained a ski mask, a handgun and cash. Dickinson County deputies placed Eskelson and Percival into custody.

Officers in Jackson County, Minn., arrested Billings and Koubandonh after spotting them driving a vehicle that matched the police description.

If convicted, the four men each face a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. All sentences are determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, and the sheriff’s department of Dickinson County, Iowa. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Dees.

A fifth man, Gregory Scott Tyler, 45, unknown address, was indicted on one count of bank robbery in connection with a May 12, 2007, holdup of the TCF Bank, located at 2195 Old Hudson Road in St. Paul.

According to court documents, Tyler allegedly entered the bank, approached and handed a teller a note that read, “This is not a joke, give me all your cash.” The teller complied, and Tyler stuffed an undisclosed amount of cash in his pants pocket and left on foot.

Police aired surveillance photos of the robber in the local media, and received calls from the public which help lead to an arrest.

If convicted, Tyler faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. All sentences are determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the St. Paul Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Svendsen.

An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by the defendant. The defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.