A Joplin police detective acting on anonymous tips and other investigative work located a man who has been charged in the Saturday robbery of Commerce Bank, 1820 E. 20th St.
David Andrew Cox, 29, of Joplin, is charged in Jasper County with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Judge Nicole Carlton set bond at $25,000 cash, and Cox was ordered placed on electronic monitoring under house arrest. He also was ordered not to have any contact with the robbery victims or enter financial institutions or businesses, possess guns or reside anywhere guns are kept.
According to a probable-cause statement an investigator filed in court, a man in black clothing with a red-and-white face mask went into the bank about 11 a.m. and handed the tellers a note. A demand for money was made in the note and the robber indicated the money was needed for a sick daughter. The robber was wearing a one-strap backpack across his chest. Police stated that in a video recording of the robbery, a 30-round Glock magazine is shown sticking out of the bag.
Tellers handed the man $200. The robber then said to them, “This was a bad idea,” according to the sworn statement.
The man then fled the bank toward a wooded area.
Detective Jason Sanbothe wrote in the statement that he was able to identify the robber from both anonymous calls and distinctive tattoos on the robber’s neck and hands. He obtained a phone number for Cox and while talking to him on the phone, stated that Cox had admitted to the robbery and said it was an awful idea. Cox then turned himself in to the detective.
The detective requested an arrest warrant believing that Cox would not respond to a summons because “David fled the area after the robbery and had to be convinced to return,” according to the court statement.