Fugitive Arrested for 2009 Armed Robbery of Iowa City Bank

DAVENPORT, IA—On October 6, 2011, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Mohamed Bahkit Elkamil on an outstanding warrant charging him the July 20, 2009, robbery of the American Bank and Trust located at 551 Westbury Drive, Iowa City, Iowa, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. The warrant for Elkamil resulted from an indictment charging Elkamil with bank robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a). The federal arrest warrant was issued on September 14, 2010, and Elkamil remained a fugitive until his capture on October 6, 2011.

During the course of the investigation, agents learned Elkamil may have fled the country and notified INTERPOL of the existence of the outstanding federal arrest warrant. On October 2, 2011 the FBI legal attaché in Cairo, Egypt, was notified by INTERPOL that Egyptian authorities were holding Elkamil. Two agents from the Omaha FBI office traveled to Cairo to arrest Elkamil for the outstanding warrant, and to accompany Elkamil back to the United States. Elkamil and the agents arrived in New York on October 6, 2011, and Elkamil was given an initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate in New York prior to his eventual return to Davenport, Iowa. The Indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

“The return of this defendant to the United States is an example of the commitment of the Department of Justice to aggressively pursue those that seek a criminal livelihood through means of violent crimes,” stated U.S. Attorney Klinefeldt. Special Agent in Charge Weysan Dun affirmed this, stating, “This arrest demonstrates the cooperation between the FBI and it’s local and international partners to ensure individuals charged with violent crimes are brought before the appropriate court to face those allegations.”

On December 3, 2010, Charles Sila Curry, of Iowa City, Iowa, was sentenced on related charges based upon the same conduct to 40 months’ imprisonment for one count of armed bank robbery, and 84 months’ imprisonment for one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of violent crime, with the sentences to be served consecutively for a total prison term of 124 months. Curry had previously entered a guilty plea on June 22, 2010.

This investigation was conducted by the Iowa City, Iowa, Police Department, the Coralville, Iowa, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.