By Times staff
MONROE - An emergency call to police about a man with a gun in a Monroe bank began as a robbery at a downtown Mexican grocery Tuesday morning.
It ended with the death of one suspect and the arrest of two others, who police said were from Beloit.
The ordeal began when officers were dispatched at about 11 a.m. to First National Bank and Trust, 1625 10th St., where employees reported a man was being forced to cash a check by a man or men who were believed to be armed, according to Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said.
A third man was parked in front of the bank. When officers approached him, he fled the scene, leading police on a chase that reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour eastbound on Wisconsin 11/81. While swerving to avoid stop sticks, the driver lost control, and the minivan overturned several times, ejecting the driver. The driver, an adult male who was alone in the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified Wednesday morning as Jonathan E. Guadarrama, 25, of Beloit.
The crash was near Bagley Road east of Juda.
Meanwhile at the bank, one of the suspects left the bank by the front door, while the other left via the back. Police arrested both on the scene: Luis E. Cruz, 30, and Luis E. Western, 34, both of Beloit, are jailed in Green County. They face charges of robbery, false imprisonment and battery.
The incident began when three men entered the Mexican grocery store in the 1000 block of 16th Ave., Kelley said. They confronted the 32-year-old store owner and a customer.
They got an undetermined amount of cash from the store, but wanted more - so two of the suspects forced the owner to go with them to cash a check at the bank, while the third stayed at the store with the 28-year-old friend of the store owner, authorities said.
As the men waited to get the check cashed, bank personnel became suspicious and called police, Kelley said.
The suspect at the store apparently released the customer and fled, Kelley said.
Later Tuesday, police learned of a man walking on Wisconsin 59 east of Monroe and detained him for questioning. As of press time, it was unclear if this man is a suspect in the robbery.
Monroe Police and Green County Sheriff Department officers maintained a perimeter around the bank until about 12:15 p.m. At that time, they were alerted to the situation at the store and cleared that location.
The store owner was not injured in the incident; the customer received a head injury and was treated and released from Monroe Clinic.
Green County Clerk Mike Doyle was on the Square at the time of the incident. He said he was about to go into the bank, and was told not go in.
As he was crossing the street to return to the Green County Courthouse, he said, he was nearly run over by a light blue minivan when it pulled out of the parking space.
"It was only about 10 feet from me," Doyle said. "Police officers had their guns pointed at the driver, and then he suddenly put the vehicle in reverse."
Bank employees were initially alerted to the situation by the victim, and bank employees spotted the one man in the minivan parked outside, said Kelley.
"The bank employees did a terrific job," Kelley said.
They not only contacted police and stayed on the line to give a description of the alleged robbers, but were also able to slip people out of the bank while the suspects waited for the check to be cashed, Kelley said. Those who left the bank were taken to nearby offices to wait.
"If there's any heroes of the day, it was the bank personnel," Kelley said. "They were on this."
The Wisconsin State Patrol is investigating the crash, and the sheriff's department has asked an outside agency to evaluate its pursuit of the minivan.
Wisconsin11/81 was closed between County OK and County KS east of Juda because of the crash, but reopened by 4 p.m.
The store on the Square where the incident began has no exterior sign on the building, but a paper sign on the front door said the business was open following the incident.
MONROE - An emergency call to police about a man with a gun in a Monroe bank began as a robbery at a downtown Mexican grocery Tuesday morning.
It ended with the death of one suspect and the arrest of two others, who police said were from Beloit.
The ordeal began when officers were dispatched at about 11 a.m. to First National Bank and Trust, 1625 10th St., where employees reported a man was being forced to cash a check by a man or men who were believed to be armed, according to Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said.
A third man was parked in front of the bank. When officers approached him, he fled the scene, leading police on a chase that reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour eastbound on Wisconsin 11/81. While swerving to avoid stop sticks, the driver lost control, and the minivan overturned several times, ejecting the driver. The driver, an adult male who was alone in the vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified Wednesday morning as Jonathan E. Guadarrama, 25, of Beloit.
The crash was near Bagley Road east of Juda.
Meanwhile at the bank, one of the suspects left the bank by the front door, while the other left via the back. Police arrested both on the scene: Luis E. Cruz, 30, and Luis E. Western, 34, both of Beloit, are jailed in Green County. They face charges of robbery, false imprisonment and battery.
The incident began when three men entered the Mexican grocery store in the 1000 block of 16th Ave., Kelley said. They confronted the 32-year-old store owner and a customer.
They got an undetermined amount of cash from the store, but wanted more - so two of the suspects forced the owner to go with them to cash a check at the bank, while the third stayed at the store with the 28-year-old friend of the store owner, authorities said.
As the men waited to get the check cashed, bank personnel became suspicious and called police, Kelley said.
The suspect at the store apparently released the customer and fled, Kelley said.
Later Tuesday, police learned of a man walking on Wisconsin 59 east of Monroe and detained him for questioning. As of press time, it was unclear if this man is a suspect in the robbery.
Monroe Police and Green County Sheriff Department officers maintained a perimeter around the bank until about 12:15 p.m. At that time, they were alerted to the situation at the store and cleared that location.
The store owner was not injured in the incident; the customer received a head injury and was treated and released from Monroe Clinic.
Green County Clerk Mike Doyle was on the Square at the time of the incident. He said he was about to go into the bank, and was told not go in.
As he was crossing the street to return to the Green County Courthouse, he said, he was nearly run over by a light blue minivan when it pulled out of the parking space.
"It was only about 10 feet from me," Doyle said. "Police officers had their guns pointed at the driver, and then he suddenly put the vehicle in reverse."
Bank employees were initially alerted to the situation by the victim, and bank employees spotted the one man in the minivan parked outside, said Kelley.
"The bank employees did a terrific job," Kelley said.
They not only contacted police and stayed on the line to give a description of the alleged robbers, but were also able to slip people out of the bank while the suspects waited for the check to be cashed, Kelley said. Those who left the bank were taken to nearby offices to wait.
"If there's any heroes of the day, it was the bank personnel," Kelley said. "They were on this."
The Wisconsin State Patrol is investigating the crash, and the sheriff's department has asked an outside agency to evaluate its pursuit of the minivan.
Wisconsin11/81 was closed between County OK and County KS east of Juda because of the crash, but reopened by 4 p.m.
The store on the Square where the incident began has no exterior sign on the building, but a paper sign on the front door said the business was open following the incident.