FBI busts a serial bank robbery suspect and also a rookie

The FBI has arrested a woman suspected of five bank robberies and a man wanted in a debut robbery.

Chelsea Wilson of Hollywood, was wanted in the robbery of three Broward County Chase Bank branches, each hit on a Monday from 4 to 5 p.m. Last week, Wilson, 24, allegedly broke pattern: The FBI says she hit the TD Bank branch at 1217 SE 17th St. in Fort Lauderdale on a Thursday at 3:58 p.m.

According to the criminal complaint, Wilson handed over a note demanding money from a bank teller. This one read, “You have exactly one minute to give me all your $50 & $100 bills from both your drawers or I will shoot you! No dye packs. no alarms follow these instructions and no one will get hurt, act normal.''

Upon receiving $300, Wilson walked out. Surveillance camera video from the Winn-Dixie at 1625 Cordova Rd. spotted her getting into a black SUV.

A friend who saw coverage of the previous robberies alerted a friend, according to the FBI. After Thursday’s robbery, agents went to Wilson’s home in the 6300 block of Fletcher Street, where they spotted a 1995 black Jeep Cherokee that looked like what they’d seen in the Winn-Dixie surveillance video.

Agents say they interviewed Wilson and her father, to whom the Jeep was registered. Wilson’s father said he thought he had driven her to a job interview and the $300 was an advance from her new employer. She told agents she used the $300 to buy groceries.

In a separate case, agents say 27-year-old Sudre Lesperance robbed a Citibank at 2789 N. University Dr. in Coral Springs on Monday.

Lesperance was taken into custody during a Coral Springs Police Department traffic stop moments later. His only prior arrest in Florida was in 2013 for petit theft.

This story was originally published October 18, 2016 at 3:42 PM with the headline "FBI busts a serial bank robbery suspect and also a rookie."