Witness helps capture bank robbery suspect at poker table in Dania

sun-sentinel.com Posted December 22 2004, 1:25 PM EST

A witness helped police nab a bank robbery suspect while gambling at a poker table at Dania Jai-alai minutes after the holdup.Mark Cherico, also known as Jim Bowie, 36, Hollywood, was charged with one count of robbery. He remained in the Broward County Jail on a $7,500 bond.

Cherico allegedly entered the Washington Mutual bank at 300 E. Dania Beach Blvd,. Dania Beach, on Dec. 18 while wearing a hat and sunglasses. He handed a teller a note demanding cash and escaped on foot with $7,000, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.A witness followed Cherico and saw him duck behind a dental office to change his clothes, then enter the jai-alai fronton, the Sheriff's Office said. The witness then called police and pointed out Cherico at the poker table.The suspect identified himself as 40-year-old Jim Bowie, but detectives later learned his true identity, the Sheriff's Office said. Investigators said they recovered Cherico's clothes, his glove, the robbery note and more than $7,000 cash. Cherico still had his hat and sun glasses.