Woman Charged After 10-Hour Bank Standoff Near Disney
Sniper Ends Bank Standoff; Hostage Rescued
Amanda Lynn Moeller (pictured, left) was charged for her role in an armed bank robbery that forced police to close an area of Kissimmee near Walt Disney World, leaving some tourists confined to their hotel rooms for much of the day.The suspects had escaped the Mercantile Bank, a mile west of Walt Disney World, with one hostage after authorities blasted through the rear door using an explosive device. But police soon cornered them in their getaway car, authorities said. The male suspect then "used the hostage again as a shield to get into another vehicle," Hansell said. "He tried to leave again, and at that point he was taken down by one of our snipers." Deputies had been using cell phones to negotiate with the suspects, who were wearing masks, wigs and coats. The hostages said they were treated well and were not threatened with violence, Hansell said. It was not immediately clear whether the suspects ever got any money. Around 7:15 p.m., police blasted through the bank's rear door. The suspects escaped with a female hostage and drove away in a bank employee's car, but they traveled less than a mile before street barricades stopped them. Shots were fired at deputies but nobody was hurt, police said. The suspects had been holed up in the bank since Tuesday morning. The first hostage was released when the robbers panicked when deputies arrived so quickly after the robbery, said sheriff's spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain. The second was freed in exchange for cigarettes and the third after deputies agreed to back their vehicles a few feet farther away from the bank, Lizasuain said. Police did not release the names of the suspects or the hostages. The same bank was robbed Nov. 16, and investigators are still looking for two suspects, Lizasuain said. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating the case.Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
- January 11, 2006: Sniper Ends Bank Standoff; Hostage Rescued
- January 10, 2006: Bank Robbers With Woman Hostage Surrounded In Car
- January 10, 2006: Hostages Traded For Cigarettes, Space; Standoff Continues
- January 10, 2006: Another Hostage Released In Bank Standoff Near Disney
Copyright 2007 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.








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