Gadsden native arrested in bank robbery spree in Florida and Alabama

In what federal authorities describe as a Florida couple’s Bonnie and Clyde-style robbery spree involving 15 banks, two in Alabama, came to an end last week as Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested them at their Tampa home. A 10-month investigation by the FBI that began with a Dec. 5 heist at Chase Bank in Tampa ended a day after 28-year Immanuel Lee Williams is said to have robbed an Alabama Credit Union in Gulf Shores, and three days after his wife 28 year old  Cara Lee Williams, a native of Gadsden allegedly held up Trinity Bank in Dothan. The couple was arrested without incident.  An 18-page federal criminal complaint filed by the FBI  in U.S. District Court in Florida outlines how agents matched the couple up with seven robberies that took place from December 2012 to February 2013 along with six more from August to October 2013 throughout Florida and the two in Alabama on Nov. 4 and Nov. 6. The robberies netted a total of $54,740.  Agents were able to pinpoint the high-end sports utility vehicle and tracked the license plate number to Cara Williams. A white Mustang that was used in an Aug. 22 robbery in Fort Myers and captured on surveillance video was also linked to Cara Williams.  Cara Williams is a former resident of Gadsden and her parents still live here, according to court records.  The couple were charged with conspiracy to obstruct, delay or affect commerce by robbery, and conspiracy to commit bank robbery, both of which can carry a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years.