An Alabama federal grand jury Friday indicted an 18-year-old Birmingham man for robbery and hostage taking during a robbery of the Tuscaloosa branch of the $737 million Alabama Credit Union in January, Acting U.S. Attorney Robert O. Posey said.

A three-count indictment was filed in U.S. District Court against Cedrick Lamar Collins.

One hostage-taking count alleged that Collins, while attempting to avoid apprehension for bank robbery, forced 11 credit union employees to accompany him without their consent.

The second hostage count charged that Collin’s took the 11 credit union employees hostage in order to compel a governmental organization not to take him into custody as an explicit condition for release of the hostages. In this case, the governmental organizations included the Tuscaloosa and University of Alabama police departments, the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.

 

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