WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren OhioAffidavit: Austintown bank was robbery suspect's second choice

Affidavit: Austintown bank was robbery suspect's second choice

A Youngstown man told authorities that an Austintown bank he's accused of robbing was his second choice because a Liberty Township bank had an armed security guard on duty, according to a federal affidavit.

The affidavit accompanies a complaint filed in U.S. District Court charging 40-year-old Jonathan Spikes with robbing the Huntington Bank branch on Mahoning Avenue in Austintown on December 5.

In addition to tips from people who saw video surveillance on the news, investigators were led to Spikes using information from the security guard who was working at the Key Bank on Belmont Avenue in Liberty on the same day as the Huntington robbery.

The guard identified Spikes as the man he saw walk into Key Bank asking about opening an account and then leaving. The guard says he watched the man drive away in a Chevy Malibu.

After his arrest Spikes told investigators that he decided not to rob the Key Bank because of the armed guard, according to the affidavit.

Spikes told investigators he went to the Huntington Bank in Austintown where he handed over a note demanding that the teller empty the cash drawer.

Authorities say Spikes left the bank with $3,213.

The affidavit says Spikes told interviewers he needed the money to pay the rent on his South Avenue apartment and because he owed money to people.

Spikes said he had injured his hand in a car accident and was unable to work, according to the affidavit.

Police arrested Spikes on December 10. He remains in the Mahoning County Jail.