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Alleged bank robbery accomplice denied bond reduction

The Peoria woman accused of driving the getaway van for an armed robbery of First Mid Bank And Trust in Galesburg last month was denied a bond reduction.Iretha Belton was in Knox County Court Monday facing theft and robbery charges, the most severe being Class X Armed Robbery, for accountability in the act that Dante Williams is accused of committing.

Galesburg Detective Kevin Legate testified that he viewed surveillance footage that showed Williams leave Circle K on East Main and enter a red mini-van.

That van checked back to Belton, who told FBI investigators that she drove Williams from Peoria.

Public Defender Daniel O’Brien argued for Belton’s $500,000 bond be reduced to $50,000.

Belton testified that she has responsibilities for her five children including one with a “compromised immune system.”

O’Brien argued for Judge Walton to lower the bond because Belton was a low flight risk due to her ties to family, church and community.

But Judge Walton denied the motion, saying Belton’s children “weren’t foremost in her mind” the day of the robbery.

Belton will next be in court for arraignment on May 6.

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