By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorAn Illinois man has been identified as the suspect who allegedly robbed a Warrenton bank just days after being involved in a bank heist near his hometown.Authorities said the suspect, 45-year-old Richard W. Edwards, of New Baden, Ill., is accused of robbing the American Bank branch in Warrenton on Jan. 6. On April 24, Edwards was charged in Warren County Circuit Court with first-degree robbery stemming from the incident.He also faces armed robbery charges in Illinois for holdups at two Edwardsville businesses, First Clover Leaf Bank and Ron’s Shell station, on Jan. 2 and 4, respectively. Edwards was taken into custody Jan. 9 following a short standoff at a Maryland Heights hotel.“Our investigators did a really job on this as they have on all of these bank robberies,” Warrenton Police Chief Greg Houdyshell said. “The bank robbers typically don’t get away with the bank robbery. The odds are really stacked against them succeeding, especially in the long term.”Edwards was identified as the Warrenton robbery suspect after family friends observed photographs released to the media and contacted authorities, according to the probable cause statement.In the week following the robbery, police said Edwards’ wife and an American Bank employee both identified Edwards from photos as being involved in the holdup.“The family friends did help out,” Houdyshell said. “They called up and clued us in on what was going on.”Police said Edwards entered the Warrenton bank at 10:31 a.m. and displayed a note demanding cash from the teller. The suspect implied he had a weapon, though none was flourished.He took an undisclosed amount of cash and left on foot around the west side of the bank building, police said. No bank employees were injured.Earlier in the week, Edwards entered the Edwardsville bank Jan. 2 and indicated to an employee that he was armed and threatened to use force. He fled with $450 from the bank, according to The Edwardsville Intelligencer.Two days later, he allegedly displayed a knife to an employee of the Shell gas station. The newspaper reported Edwards got away with $200.On the morning of Jan. 9, police received information that Edwards was staying at the Red Roof Inn in Maryland Heights. When Edwards opened the door to his hotel roof, he was holding a knife to his wife’s throat.Edwards released her and then was taken into custody a short time later.Since May 2011, 10 banks in the area have been robbed, including eight in Warren County. Suspects were arrested in each of the bank robberies with the exception of a Aug. 1, 2013, heist at First Bank in Warrenton.Richard W. Edwards