Police: Milford Bank Robber Could Face Additional Charges
MILFORD (WWJ) - A 48-year-old man charged with robbing a Milford credit union in July could face additional charges for robbing another local bank and several others in Illinois.
Carlos Vilanova was arraigned earlier this week on one count of bank robbery and has been bound over to circuit court for trial. He is currently being held in the Oakland County Jail on a $200,000 cash bond. He's due back in court on Aug. 9. If convicted as charged, he faces up to life in prison.
Police say Vilanova entered Community Choice Credit Union, on Milford Road south of General Motors Road, around noon on July 11 and passed a note indicating he was armed. No weapon was seen and no employees were injured during the incident. He was able to escape the area with several hundred dollars.
Surveillance photographs were obtained and Milford investigators disseminated them to the media and surrounding law enforcement agencies. Social media outlets were used and tips were solicited through Crime Stoppers.
Milford Police Detective Ed Pilch told reporters a FBI agent with the Chicago field office saw the photos and believed the same person was responsible for bank robberies there. The FBI's field offices in Detroit and Ann Arbor were alerted and eventually a tip came in identifying Vilanova by name.
Investigators say Vilanova, who is formerly from Chicago, moved to Highland Township about a month ago and was working in Ann Arbor.
With assistance from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Apprehension Team, Vilanova was found and taken into custody without incident within an hour of an arrest warrant being issued.
In addition to the Milford robbery, investigators say Vilanova could also face charges in connection with several bank robberies in Illinois and another that occurred at the First National Bank in Green Oak Township on June 28.
"We anticipate he will have another local charge very, very soon and five additional charges through the state of Illinois through the FBI," said Milford Police Chief Thomas Lindberg.
