74-year-old woman indicted for Butler County bank robbery

Fairfield Twp. credit union robbed when woman displayed a weapon and demanded money.
ajc.com

A 74-year-old Hamilton woman indicted by a grand jury is accused of robbing a credit union last month.

Ann Mayers, who police say confessed to the April 19 crime in Fairfield Twp., is now facing indicted charges of aggravated robbery with a gun specification, a first-degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.

Mayers is scheduled to be arraigned on the indicted charges on May 21 by Butler County Common Pleas Judge Dan Haughey. She remains housed in the county jail in lieu of $100,000 bond set in lower court after her arrest.

Mayers removed the license plate from her car, drove from Hamilton to a credit union, robbed it — getting less than $1,000 — drove to a store to make a return and then home, where she was in the backyard when police closed in on her as a suspect, according to the the Fairfield Twp. Police report.

The Parrish Avenue woman with no criminal history was arrested less than two hours after allegedly robbing AurGroup Credit Union on Creekside Drive in Fairfield Twp.

Detective Brandon McCroskey said Mayers had financial issues and after talking with family, she may have been scammed out of “a lot of money.”

According to the police report, when officers arrived at her house, Mayers was with her sister. She said, “I know why you’re here.”

When the officer said “Why is that?,” Mayers replied, “The bank, AurGroup, I did it.”

Mayers made the statement recorded on the officer’s body camera at 3:06 p.m., less than two hours after the robbery was reported at 1:31 p.m..

Mayers told officers where to find the stolen cash, totaling $568 in a Kroger bag attached to the shift knob and the loaded Colt. 38 caliber revolver under the driver’s seat.

Credit union employees said the robber had two bags, one of which carried a visible gun.

Mayers said she took the license plate off the vehicle before the robbery and threw out a bag, clothing and mask she was wearing. Police were unable to find the clothing after tracking her route after the robbery, which included a trip to Kohl’s to return some jeans, according to the police report.

Ann Mayer | Photo courtesy of Butler County Jail

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The sister told police Mayers was scammed out of thousands of dollars from someone online, according to the police report. The sister also sent information to detectives about a person to whom she believed persuaded Mayers to send money.

“This person allegedly told Ann that they are with U.S. Customs,” detectives wrote in the report.

In a call from the Butler County Jail, Mayers apologized to her sister, saying she doesn’t know why she did it, according to police. She also stated someone was going to “take their house” because she owes them $65,000.

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