Woman Accused In 2 Robbery Attempts

A 54-year-old woman arrested after a pair of attempted bank robberies on Tuesday morning initially claimed a man forced her to do the holdups, according to police.

Police said that prior to 9:30 a.m., the Compass Bank branches on Edgewood Avenue South and Youngerman Circle were each held up by a woman. The arrest report said Linda Rasberry showed the tellers a note reading: "He has me wired and he has my child hostage."

In both cases, the female robber left the banks without any money.

A short time after the robberies, police stopped a woman in a minivan at 103rd Street and Blanding Boulevard.

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Police said Rasberry initially gave police a name of a man who took her child, along with an address in the McCoys Creek neighborhood and a description of the man's car.

Police said they investigated, but were unable to confirm her story.

Later, under questioning, police said she made a full confession to the attempted robberies and would be charged with two counts of strong-arm robbery.