The bank robbery trial of Brandon Allen took a turn Wednesday morning when the Lima man fired his attorney, attempted to represent himself and ultimately rehired his legal counsel.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — The defendant in a bank robbery trial in Allen County Common Pleas Court had a pro-active morning on Wednesday.
In the span of a few short hours, Lima resident Brandon Allen — on trial for aggravated robbery for allegedly entering the Lima branch of Union Bank and demanding money — (1) fired his attorney, (2) attempted to cross-examine witnesses himself (with horrendous results, according to multiple court observers) and (3) rehired Steve Chamberlain from the county’s public defenders office to represent him for the remainder of the trial.
Wednesday marked day two of the jury trial for Allen, 38, who is charged in connection with the robbery of the bank at 1410 Bellefontaine Avenue. The first-degree felony count against Allen includes a three-year specification for the use of a firearm and another specification labeling Allen a repeat violent offender.
Testimony on Tuesday came from the bank teller at bank who said she feared for her life when a Black man entered the building on the morning of March 8, 2022, and handed her a note which read: “I HAVE a gun please place All $$ from draw(er) and lock box safe on Counter, NO Die packs or silent alarms or I will Shoot.”
The note was written on the back of a blank check from Superior Bank. The checking account and routing numbers on the check were subsequently traced to Allen.
Daniel Arrick, whose daughter was at the time romantically involved with Allen, told jurors on Wednesday that on the day of the robbery Allen stopped at his residence briefly and dropped off approximately $1,100 — the bulk of it in $100 bills.
“He handed me the money and I thought it was for rent,” Arrick told jurors. Questioned by Allen County Prosecuting Attorney Destiny Caldwell about Allen’s demeanor at the time, Arrick said the man appeared “scared.”
“He said the police were after him and he needed to get out of town,” Arrick testified.
Allen was the subject of a manhunt throughout most of the day on March 8 as law enforcement acted on rapidly-evolving information concerning the suspect’s whereabouts.
Derek Dennis, an officer with the New Bremen Police Department and a member of the FBI’s Northwest Ohio Safe Streets Task Force, was among officers involved in the aftermath of the bank robbery. Dennis said he was part of a task force assigned to search of a residence at 953 Bellefontaine Avenue, where Allen was believed to reside, but noted that investigators received subsequent information that the suspect was actually in the 400 block of South Jameson Avenue.
Dennis said he responded to that address. He told jurors that as he approached a residence at 424 S. Jameson Ave. he heard someone screaming “he’s running; he’s running!” The voice came from between two homes and Dennis said he ran toward the sound.
“That’s when I came face-to-face with Mr. Allen. I ordered him to the ground at gunpoint and he complied and was taken into custody,” Dennis testified.
Dennis said Allen had no weapon on his person at the time.
Other testimony on Wednesday came from Amy Vazquez, branch manager at Union Bank, who testified that a daily audit sheet at the bank revealed the bank robber made off with $3,076. Unique among that amount was a single $2 bill the teller testified on Tuesday was in her cash drawer.
Lima Police Lt. Zach Leland testified a $2 bill was found as part of the $903 Allen had on his person at the time of his arrest.
Testimony is scheduled to resume Thursday morning, with the state nearing the end of its case.
