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Suspect learns of charges

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by Courtney Johnson

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

A Madison man who allegedly robbed an East Washington Avenue Amcore Bank last week was formally charged with armed robbery Monday.

Christopher Coster, 34, was arrested Thursday night at a home located on East Washington Avenue. Police credited the arrest in large part to the bank's high-tech surveillance cameras, which were able to take exceptionally clear photos of the suspect.

Coster's bail was set at $20,000, according to Assistant District Attorney Mike Verveer, who met with Coster in court Monday.

"The images taken of the armed robbery were extremely good, and Coster confessed to the armed robbery when he was confronted with photos from the bank," Verveer said.

To date, Coster has been convicted of 25 different charges in Dane County, including stalking, retail theft and bail jumping. When he was arrested, he had four other warrants out for his arrest.

Verveer said many of Coster's other crimes have been motivated by drug addiction. Although Coster did not speak in court Monday, he told police detectives that robbing the bank was the worst mistake of his life, Verveer added.

"He said he was in financial difficulty, but he did not specifically blame it on his crack cocaine addiction," Verveer said.

This robbery marked the second time in less than three months that this particular Amcore Bank branch had been robbed — the bank was also robbed in late December 2006.

Last week's incident was also the second bank robbery to occur in Madison this year. The Capitol Square Anchor Bank was robbed in January.

In an interview Friday with The Badger Herald, MPD Public Information Officer Mike Hanson said it is still too early to tell if Coster was involved in other area bank robberies.

Hanson said Amcore Bank had changed their camera angles, creating a clearer shot of the suspect.

"Before, what we had seen was the top of a suspect's head or different angles that weren't able to provide such a precise picture," Hanson said.

If convicted of armed robbery, Coster could face up to four years in prison and $100,000 in fines.

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