Suspect in Brooklyn bank robbery arrested, charged
COLUMBIA TWP. — A suspect in the armed robbery Tuesday of a Brooklyn bank was apprehended not long after the robbery was reported, police said.
A suspect, a 23-year-old man from Jackson, was caught during a traffic stop on Wampler's Lake Road in Columbia Township, Columbia Township Police Chief Jay Niles said in a news release. The vehicle that was stopped matched the description of the one the bank robbery suspect was driving, and further investigation into the "vehicle and the occupant discovered numerous articles of evidence of the crime and furthermore the evidence identified the suspect of this crime as well," the release said.
Gabriel B. Schirmacher of Jackson is charged with armed robbery, bank robbery, felony firearm and possession of a controlled substance, according to Columbia Township police. The robbery charges are each punishable by up to life in prison. He was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Jackson County District Court. His bond is set at $400,000.
The robbery happened at about 2:10 p.m. Tuesday, the release said. Columbia Township police were dispatched to the Comerica Bank branch at 11351 Brooklyn Road to a report that a single suspect entered the bank and displayed a firearm, seeking money, the report said. Once the robbery was completed, the suspect fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The gun was a semiautomatic pistol, Niles said in an email. It was not an authentic, working firearm but it had "significant resemblances to the actual firearm that it was modeled after," he said.
Following the report of the robbery, Columbia Lower Elementary School and Columbia Upper Elementary School, both in the village of Brooklyn, were placed into a lockdown as the location of the suspect was unknown, the release said. Additionally, Columbia School District transportation was instructed to not enter the area until the situation was secured.
The Michigan State Police, Jackson County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted in the investigation, the release said.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Suspect in Brooklyn bank robbery apprehended
