After pulling off one bank heist and attempting another, a Brighton man has been bound over for trial on bank robbery charges.

37-year-old Robert Joseph Markus had been charged with bank robbery and armed robbery for the January 19th incidents. At a probable cause conference earlier this week, a second count of armed robbery was added, to which he pleaded not guilty. His case was then sent to Livingston County Circuit Court for trial.

Markus was arrested after Livingston County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a bank robbery at the TCF Bank on East Grand River Avenue in Genoa Township. Witnesses said a white male entered the bank wearing a ski mask and announced to tellers it was a robbery. Witnesses said he implied that he had a weapon, although none was shown. He then fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

About fifteen minutes later it was reported that a suspect fitting the description of the TCF robber had entered the Lake Trust Credit Union on M-59 in Howell Township, but fled after being met by an employee who directed him to remove his mask. Several minutes later, deputies stopped a pickup truck matching a description provided by witnesses on Highland Road near Michigan Avenue in Howell and took Markus into custody. (JK)