Tahlequah man arrested in bank robbery

<br>TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) _ Federal prosecutors filed bank robbery charges Wednesday against a Northeastern State University student who allegedly held up a Cherokee County bank. <br><br>Christopher Tapp

Thursday, November 1st 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) _ Federal prosecutors filed bank robbery charges Wednesday against a Northeastern State University student who allegedly held up a Cherokee County bank.

Christopher Tapp is accused of robbing the Bank of America at Park Hill on Monday. Law officers arrested Tapp, 23, Tuesday night at his girlfriend's apartment in Tahlequah, Cherokee County Sheriff Delena Goss said.

``We recovered a lot of the money, some rings and a Halloween costume we think he bought with the money,'' Goss said.

The sheriff did not know how much money was taken in the robbery.

Authorities also recovered a pellet gun that resembles a semiautomatic pistol, which they think was used in the holdup, U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling said.

The bank was robbed about 10:45 a.m. Monday when a man entered the building and told a teller, ``Give me the money,'' authorities said. The man displayed a weapon and told the teller to get money from the drawer.

Authorities got a picture of the suspect from a bank camera. A police officer at Northeastern Oklahoma State University identified the suspect. Tapp is a student at the university.

Authorities also arrested Tapp on an outstanding warrant for bogus checks from Benton County, Ark., before taking him to the Muskogee City/County jail.

If convicted, Tapp could face up to 25 years in prison, Sperling said.