WTHR |Police say manager set fire to hide bank theft

Police say manager set fire to hide bank theft

Sandra Chapman/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis - Up in smoke: cash is set on fire inside a bank vault to cover a trail of theft and a bank manager is arrested.

Arson investigators are on the trail of hot money at the Fifth Third Bank on Georgetown Road.
They want to know what was taken and what got burned.

"They're literally going through stacks of charred bills," is how Indianapolis Metro Police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Mount described Thursday's investigation.

A sign on the door indicating the bank was closed for the day downplayed what firefighters found hours earlier - cash going up in smoke.

"It is disappointing," said Natalie Guzman, Vice President of Communications for Fifth Third Bank of Central Indiana.

According to Sgt. Mount, "The vault was locked. They got the code, got it opened and they found in the back corner of the vault, there was a box filled with cash. It was on fire."

Authorities believe 31-year old assistant manager Dwayne Roberts set the fire to cover up months of theft, but made a crucial mistake.

"In the course of setting the cash on fire, he also dropped his keys inside the vault and locked his keys inside. So now he can't leave, can't lock the bank, can't get in his car so he's really kind of stuck so he's got to call 911," Mount told Eyewitness News.

All fingers quickly pointed back to Roberts. Police say he was the only one who had keys to the vault and more importantly access to the money, and he had reportedly sent some employees home early.

But surveillance tapes seized from inside confirmed investigator's suspicions.

"It showed an individual that was later identified as Mr. Roberts going in and out of this vault. And after he's leaving the flames starting to come up," Mount explained.

"There's just no way without spontaneous combustion that this money just caught on fire," he said.

Fifth Third Bank representatives would not comment about Roberts specifically, but credits employees with helping to solve the case.

"They were here diligently with police investigating this until 2:00 am [Wednesday] night," said Guzman. "We take pride in our employees and we applaud the ones that do their job well and are good for the bank," she added.

As for Roberts, $6,000 was found inside his truck. Police say he may have taken the money to cover medical bills, but is now facing felony arson and theft charges.

Authorities have not decided if Roberts will face federal charges.

The Fifth Third Bank location will remain closed until Saturday because of smoke damage. Bank officials recommend customers use the Lafayette Road and Speedway branches during the closing.