Second Mahatta bank robbery suspect turns himself in

AMMAN — Police on Saturday said that the second suspect in last week’s Mahatta bank robbery case reportedly turned himself in.

The first suspect, his accomplice, was arrested earlier in the week in Amman.  

Authorities also retrieved some of the stolen cash, according to Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi.

The two men, armed and masked, reportedly entered a bank in the Mahatta neighbourhood on October 20, stole an undisclosed amount of cash, then fled.

Other officials stated the stolen amount was around JD59,000.

"The second suspect turned himself in to police on Saturday after hearing the news that his partner was arrested, and handed in part of the stolen cash,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times. 

The police official did not reveal the amount of the retrieved cash.

Last week, a special team tasked with investigating the incident was able to identify one of the two men, who informed them that he had robbed the bank with the help of his friend. 

The suspect reportedly ushered investigators to the vehicle allegedly used in the robbery, the tools employed in robbing the bank and half of the stolen cash, according to Sartawi.

A video purportedly showing two men jumping from a vehicle and entering an establishment went viral shortly after the robbery.

Another video purportedly shows the two men threatening bank employees, one of them going behind the counter and stashing what appears to be cash in a black bag.

The video footage then shows the two suspects rushing towards their car, which was double parked, and leaving the scene as three men in suits chase the vehicle. 

A Public Security Department statement said the defendants will be referred to the State Security Court (SSC) prosecution office for further questioning and indictment.

The SSC has been sentencing convicted bank robbers to 15 years in prison because “attacks on financial establishments in the Kingdom endanger the safety of society, disturb public order, spread fear among citizens, endanger the lives of bank employees and jeopardise economic resources”.

  Last week’s robbery was the sixth incident targetting a local bank in the Kingdom since the beginning of the year. Police have managed to arrest the majority of the suspects and retrieve most of the stolen cash.

In 2018, one money exchange shop and eight banks were targetted in Jordan. In some of these cases, the robbers were armed or used fake weapons.

Seven of the nine suspected robbers have been arrested so far, while two suspects, who escaped with over JD105,000 in cash from two banks in the Wihdat neighbourhood and in Irbid, remain at large.