DAVENPORT, IOWA — A Peoria couple made their first federal court appearance for their suspected roles in a Galesburg bank robbery.
Dante L. Williams, 47, and Iretha J. Belton, 45, both of Peoria, were in the courtroom of Chief U.S. District Judge Sara Darrow on Tuesday for an initial appearance.The duo will be back before Darrow on Thursday for arraignment. Darrow appointed each a public defender during Tuesday’s hearing. The couple was ordered held in the custody of the U.S. marshals pending Thursday’s hearing.
Federal court records indicate the two were indicted by a federal grand jury March 19 on one count of armed bank robbery while using a stun gun but that indictment wasn’t unsealed until they appeared in Darrow’s courtroom. It is likely Williams will face a sentencing enhancement due to a prior bank robbery conviction in Peoria’s federal court a decade ago.
According to charging documents and Belton’s court hearing in Knox County Circuit Court last week, Belton allegedly drove Williams on Feb. 27 to Galesburg with the intent to rob a bank. The duo drove around for Williams “to see what bank felt right to (Williams),” according court records. The Peoria man then reportedly dressed up as a woman, entered First Mid Bank & Trust in downtown Galesburg and, with a stun gun in his pocket, took $2,150 from the bank. Due to car problems, the couple remained in town.
After being apprehended blocks away, police searched their vehicle and found Belton’s purse where Williams’ disguise was found and the bank’s cash, according to court records.
While Galesburg federal cases are assigned to the federal courthouse in Rock Island, cases are being held across the Mississippi River in Davenport as black mold issues led to the temporary closure of the Rock Island facility several months ago.