Saturday, December 17, 2005

FAIRFAX, Virginia (CNN) -- The woman accused of robbing four banks while talking on her cell phone -- earning the nickname the "cell phone bandit" -- was arraigned Wednesday and ordered held without bond.Appearing in a Virginia courtroom, Candice Rose Martinez, 19, wore a green jumpsuit with "Sheriff's Department" written on the back and answered, "Yes," when Judge Ian O'Flaherty asked if she spoke English.The judge scheduled her next court appearance -- a preliminary hearing -- for January 4. Martinez, a community college student, also faces federal charges. A hearing in federal court has not been scheduled.Martinez's demeanor in Fairfax District Court differed from that of the woman in bank surveillance video, who chatted casually on a cell phone as she allegedly robbed four Wachovia Bank branches in suburban Washington. (Watch as the suspect is taken into custody -- 2:12)The young woman, who was taken into custody Tuesday, has admitted to the four robberies, according to an affidavit filed against her boyfriend, Dave Chatram Williams, who is accused of driving the getaway car during the holdups.According to the affidavit, Williams, a former Wachovia employee, also has admitted his alleged role, the affidavit said. He was arrested Monday.The robberies took place between October 12 and November 4, police said.In three of the holdups, cameras captured a woman talking on a cell phone as she presented a box containing a note to tellers. In the fourth robbery, she did not carry a box but displayed a handgun and handed the teller a note, police said.An affidavit filed in Fairfax County in connection with her arrest detailed one of the notes, which was taped to an empty box. The robber presented the note to a teller on October 22, the affidavit said.The note said, "You have 40 seconds to put all your money in the box, do not make any sudden moves," according to the court document.The suspect then asked the teller to put all $100 and $50 bills in the box, saying, "I need you to empty all the drawers -- you have three," the suspect said, according to the document.Growing impatient, the robber protested, "You're taking too long, you have 40 seconds," according to the affidavit.Authorities seized $3,500 in cash from Martinez's Chantilly, Virginia apartment -- twenty $100 bills and thirty $50 bills secured with Wachovia bands -- the affidavit said. They also confiscated a cellular phone box, a high school yearbook, a computer, some Louis Vuitton purses and a digital camera, according to the affidavit.CNN's Kevin Bohn and Terry Frieden contributed to this report.

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