Thursday January 6, 2011 year: 131 No. 4 the student voice of
The Ohio State University
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thelantern ‘Church lady bandit’ indicted
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KELSEY BULLER Oller projects reporter buller.10@osu.edu
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After four years of suspected robberies, the robber known as the “church lady bandit” was indicted Wednesday in connection to 12 Columbus robberies, one at the U.S. Bank branch in the Ohio Union on Oct. 20. The 46-year-old female Sylvete P. Gilbert, was arrested Dec. 23 after robbing a Fifth Third Bank on Nationwide Boulevard. When Gilbert was making her getaway with the money, a red dye pack exploded, causing her to drop the loot and start running. Police found her in a building across from the bank, drenched in red, hiding in a mail room, the FBI said. Gilbert’s arrest linked her to the robbery of about eight banks from 2006 to 2010, FBI special agent Harry Trombitas told The Lantern on Dec. 23. However, while in custody, police connected her to even more central Ohio robberies. Gilbert robbed
a total of 11 banks and one hotel — a Hampton Inn at 2093 S. Hamilton Rd. The jump to 12 robberies from a suspected eight resulted from the comparison of photos from the surveillance cameras in all of the robbed locations, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien told The Lantern on Wednesday. Sylvete P. Gilbert “Her conduct was similar, so they matched up, and in some instances we showed photographs to tellers and customers and employees and they were able to get identiÿcations,” he said. The “church lady bandit” earned her nickname from wearing nice clothes during one of the robberies, Trombitas said. Gilbert is being indicted for 12 counts of seconddegree felony robbery and 12 counts of third-degree
felony robbery, totaling 24 counts of robbery. She could face up to a maximum of eight years of prison for each charge. “Technically, she could be looking at close to 100 years,” O’Brien said. “That would not be a likely kind of sentence, but at age 46, whatever the sentence is, it’s a kind of sentence that could keep her in prison for the rest of her life.” Lt. Rick Green of OSU Police said the department is pleased Gilbert was ÿnally arrested and charged for her crimes. He credits the hard work of catching the suspect to patrol ofÿcers. “We worked over 20 different leads potentially identifying somebody and it really took what solves most crimes — patrol ofÿcers,” he said. “It was ofÿcers out on the street doing a good job. They’re the ones who broke the case for us and my hat is off to them and all the police ofÿcers in the community that patrol every day.” Gilbert is scheduled to appear in court Friday at 1:30 p.m.
Search for glory continues
Jared Sullinger’s older brother, J.J., struggles to get his feet back on the court after an ACL injury.
sports
RichRod fired for real this time
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arts & life
Photo in the public domain
Fred Stumpp, pictured manning a 50-caliber machine gun on top of a tank, re-enacts the liberation of Mauthausen Concentration Camp on May 6, 1945, one day after the liberation on May 5, 1945, with fellow members of the 41st Cavalry Reconnaissance Division and thousands of prisoners.
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The rest of the best
The Lantern’s top five movies from 2010 include ‘Black Swan’ and ‘The Social Network.’
campus
Website links people by dreams
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weather
WWII veteran remembers fevers of war NICK HILTBRAND For The Lantern hiltbrand.4@osu.edu Fred Stumpp avoided death, took hundreds of enemies prisoner and freed thousands of Jews on the brink of starvation at Mauthausen, one of World War II’s biggest and most brutal Nazi concentration camps, in Austria. The 84-year-old Stumpp, a lifelong Ohio State football fan, looks years younger than his age. Instead of medals and souvenirs from war, his house is lined with hundreds of clocks that he collects. Born and raised in Cambridge, Ohio, Stumpp had just graduated high school in June 1944 when he was drafted into the military at the age of 18. He said there wasn’t much of a decision to be made. “It was the only option I had. If I didn’t join the military, I had to go to prison, so it was one of the two,” Stumpp said. “I didn’t think too much of it. Actually, I was kind of excited to go over there and do my part.” Soon after being drafted, Stumpp was shipped to France and told that he was going to be a part of the 41st Cavalry Reconnaissance Division.
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JOE PODELCO / Photo editor
Pvt. Fred Stumpp holds a photo of himself (left) and friend Owen Cisco (middle) that was taken around December 1944, several months before Stumpp took part in the liberation of Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria on May 5, 1945.
COTA route hinges on $7.9M ODOT grant
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THOMAS BRADLEY Lantern reporter bradley.321@osu.edu
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Central Ohio Transit Authority could soon offer more destinations. The Ohio Department of Transportation is expected to decide today on a grant application that could expand COTA’s services, said Scott Varner, ODOT’s deputy director of communications. The grant would create a new bus route referred to as the Health Education Line, although not ofÿcially named. The line’s initial cost estimate is $8.2 million, said Beth Berkemer, COTA representative. On Dec. 17,
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COTA applied for the Innovative New Service Starts Program, ODOT funds awarded to public transit agencies. If approved today, ODOT’s grant would cover $7.9 million of the cost. Planning has begun for the route that will connect Columbus-area hospitals and universities, including Ohio State, said Marty Stutz, COTA’s vice president of communication. “We have a unique opportunity to provide students and hospital staff alike with a much needed service,” Berkemer said. “The ability to provide a single-seat ride to and from these locations is both a need and really an amazing opportunity for our customers.” The proposed route would stop at Ohio Health at Riverside Methodist Hospital, the OSU Medical
Center, Columbus State Community College, Columbus College of Art and Design, Grant Medical Center, Franklin University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. If the grant is approved, COTA plans to have the route ready for service in September, as part of its quarterly service change. “We hope our program is chosen, but we understand that there are many great programs out there that have applied for the same grant,” Berkemer said. Included in the $8.2 million estimate, Berkemer said COTA will be looking to hire about 20 new drivers to operate the route seven days a week.
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