The female half of an alleged brother-and-sister bank robber team is a teacher at a Kanawha County middle school, police said Monday.

Melissa A. Brown, 28, and Jeremy Mark Brown, 24, were arrested Monday morning after they allegedly robbed a Cabell County bank. They later admitted to robbing a City National Bank branch on Charleston's West Side last week, according to Sgt. Steve Cooper, chief of detectives for the Charleston Police Department.

"Apparently, she's a teacher at Stonewall Jackson," Cooper said of Melissa Brown. He did not know if or where her brother was employed.

According to the Kanawha County schools Web site, Melissa April Brown is a classroom teacher at Stonewall Jackson Middle School, making $31,556 a year.

In a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Huntington, FBI Special Agent Joseph Ciccarelli said Jeremy Brown entered the First Sentry Bank on Mud River Road, just off Interstate 64 near Barboursville.

Brown allegedly gave a teller a note telling her that he had a gun, and telling her to stay calm and empty the register. The teller handed Brown about $4,257 and he left, getting into a car driven by his sister Melissa, according to the complaint.

The Browns fled west on I-64, according to police, and were captured several miles down the road. The money was recovered, said Cooper, who cited "exceptional police work by authorities in Cabell County."

"When we received the details of the robbery at Barboursville, we recognized similarities in the vehicle description" - a red Chevrolet Cavalier - "and the method of operation," Cooper said.

Because of those similarities, Charleston police sent investigators to Cabell County. The Browns implicated themselves in the April 15 Charleston robbery, Cooper said.

Police had noted similarities between the West Side robbery and the April 1 robbery of a City National branch in St. Albans. Cooper said St. Albans police and the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department would investigate any links between the Browns and that robbery.

He did not know of any specific motive for the robberies. "We're exploring motive," he said, "but we have the suspects implicating themselves and they were caught red-handed in Barboursville ... It's a solid case."

To contact staff writer Greg Moore, use e-mail or call 348-1211.

The female half of an alleged brother-and-sister bank robber team is a teacher at a Kanawha County middle school, police said Monday.

Melissa A. Brown, 28, and Jeremy Mark Brown, 24, were arrested Monday morning after they allegedly robbed a Cabell County bank. They later admitted to robbing a City National Bank branch on Charleston's West Side last week, according to Sgt. Steve Cooper, chief of detectives for the Charleston Police Department.

"Apparently, she's a teacher at Stonewall Jackson," Cooper said of Melissa Brown. He did not know if or where her brother was employed.

According to the Kanawha County schools Web site, Melissa April Brown is a classroom teacher at Stonewall Jackson Middle School, making $31,556 a year.

In a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Huntington, FBI Special Agent Joseph Ciccarelli said Jeremy Brown entered the First Sentry Bank on Mud River Road, just off Interstate 64 near Barboursville.

Brown allegedly gave a teller a note telling her that he had a gun, and telling her to stay calm and empty the register. The teller handed Brown about $4,257 and he left, getting into a car driven by his sister Melissa, according to the complaint.

The Browns fled west on I-64, according to police, and were captured several miles down the road. The money was recovered, said Cooper, who cited "exceptional police work by authorities in Cabell County."

"When we received the details of the robbery at Barboursville, we recognized similarities in the vehicle description" - a red Chevrolet Cavalier - "and the method of operation," Cooper said.

Because of those similarities, Charleston police sent investigators to Cabell County. The Browns implicated themselves in the April 15 Charleston robbery, Cooper said.

Police had noted similarities between the West Side robbery and the April 1 robbery of a City National branch in St. Albans. Cooper said St. Albans police and the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department would investigate any links between the Browns and that robbery.

He did not know of any specific motive for the robberies. "We're exploring motive," he said, "but we have the suspects implicating themselves and they were caught red-handed in Barboursville ... It's a solid case."

To contact staff writer Greg Moore, use e-mail or call 348-1211.