3 nabbed after Lithonia bank robbery

“They went into the bank as we had seen before … forcing people to the floor, brandishing weapons, being really aggressive,” FBI spokesman Steve Emmett told WSB Radio.

The robbers earned their nickname because they typically wear shoulder-length black wigs.

On Monday, two men entered the bank just after noon and ordered everyone to get down on the floor, the FBI said. One of the robbers held a gun to the heads of a bank teller and a customer.

The robbers were not able to take any money from the bank, the FBI said, but they left with a change machine. They also took money from one of the bank’s customers.

The men left the bank and got into a black Cadillac, which was being driven by a third man, Emmett told WSB Radio. But this time, DeKalb police officers happened to be in the area, Emmett said.

“A short vehicle pursuit occurred, and then the individuals bailed from their vehicle,” he told WSB Radio. The men were arrested at the Creekside Crossing Apartments.

Authorities discovered that the Cadillac had been stolen in an Oct. 2 carjacking.

“That’s the M.O. of these individuals, not only how they are conducting themselves, but the fact that they are stealing a car to conduct these bank robberies,” Emmett said.

Authorities arrested Yaharam Ben Yisrael, 30; Kelton Malik Huger, 38; and Lucius Oliver Service, 22, and have charged them with armed bank robbery in Monday’s incident, but additional charges may follow if investigators are able to link them to previous robberies. All three are from Atlanta.

Police found what Emmett called a “distinctive” weapon in the Cadillac on Monday – one that was used in that robbery as well as in one last week.

“It was a machine pistol … we would have described it as a Mac 10,” Emmett told WSB Radio. “Yesterday’s recovered weapon was a Mac 11, a very distinctive, high-capacity, high velocity, high company ... paramilitary weapon.”

The three men are linked to a Sept. 30 robbery – even though they weren’t wearing wigs -- FBI officials said. On that day two men went inside the Chase Bank on 1250 Tech Drive in Norcross and ordered customers to get down on the floor. One of the men stood by, holding a weapon described as a machine pistol-type firearm, the FBI said.

The other man walked to the teller station and demanded money, but didn’t get any, the FBI said.

The men left, driving off in a gold-colored Kia Spectra. The car was reported stolen from DeKalb County on Wednesday, federal agents said.

Authorities found the car behind the bank, but the three men were nowhere in sight.

Wells Fargo said it will give a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the robbers

WSB Radio's Pete Combs contributed to this article