Man, women face judge for armed robbery

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WPRI) -- Two women and a man appeared in court Thursday to face a slew of charges in connection with an Attleboro bank robbery.

The Bank of America branch on Washington Street was held up at gunpoint Wednesday, and one crucial mistake led police to the trio of suspects, who were arrested later in the day, just a half-mile away from the bank.

Katelyn Wilbur, 20, Denielle LaValley-Pheil, 38, and Tod Chamberlain, 37, were arraigned in Attleboro District Court Thursday on several charges, including armed robbery, conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of heroin.

Police tell us that Wilbur walked into the bank, gun in hand, demanded money from the teller, then took off in a white Ford Explorer.

Court proceedings revealed that a "witness did note when they saw the individual flee the scene and jump the fence, that they had dropped a cell phone on the ground."

Officers were able to use that phone to track the three suspects to an apartment on Washington Street.

Further proceedings in court revealed that "there was a statement from Ms. Wilbur that stated that Mr. Chamberlain and Ms. LaValley, over the course of a couple weeks, had been nagging her about robbing this bank, and eventually because of some financial issues she agreed to."

We've also learned that the gun used in the crime was not real. Police found it in the apartment and discovered that it was an airsoft gun, painted to look like a semi-automatic weapon.

According to court records, police also recovered $675 from the apartment.

Wilbur and LaValley-Pheil are being held on $10,000 bail, while Chamberlain is being held on $100,000 bail.