4 black folks charged in bank robbery after arrests aided by Milwaukee alderman - In Chicago the Alderman is usually the indicted one....

Four Neghroes accused of robbing a south side Milwaukee bank were charged this week after a chase involving the area's alderman ended with police arresting the suspects.

Clarissa K. Burnette, 22; Christopher L. Copeland, 31; Christopher W. Jackson, 19; and Myrhaz B. Posey, 25, all of Milwaukee, are charged with bank robbery.

According to a criminal complaint released Wednesday:

Posey learned that Burnette, his girlfriend, lost her job and that Copeland had suggested they go to the bank and "cash a check," meaning rob it. The plan allegedly was for Copeland to drive the getaway car, while Posey and Jackson went into the bank, and Burnette, who was a passenger in the car, chose the location of where the getaway car would be waiting.

Jackson and Posey walked into North Shore Bank, 4230 W. Oklahoma Ave., about 12:30 p.m. Sept. 12 and slid a note to a bank teller that instructed her to empty her cash drawer or she would be shot.

The clerk told police she was afraid and remembered a recent robbery in the area in which a clerk was killed. She gave the men money from her cash drawer, along with bait money and a red dye pack. As soon as the men left, she activated the robbery alarm.

A Milwaukee police officer saw Jackson and Posey standing on a sidewalk and examining a bag that was spewing red smoke. The officer realized that smoke was coming from a dye pack, indicating the men had just robbed a bank. The men started to run and she chased them in her cruiser, while other officers arrived and chased on foot.

Posey was caught first, and a robbery demand note was found in his pocket, the complaint says. When Jackson was arrested, his shirt and pants had red dye on them.

Ald. Joe Dudzik was driving in the neighborhood about the same time and noticed the men running with red smoke surrounding them. He followed the men in his truck and then chased them on foot, meeting up with Milwaukee police officers during the pursuit.

Dudzik told the Journal Sentinel that he was just doing his job.

"I think any one of my colleagues would have done this," he said.

To view the latest crime news and an interactive map of Milwaukee police calls, visit jsonline.com/crime.