Court Watching: Sergio Bellew faces Belleville bank robbery charge

Sergio Luis Bellew, 26, of River Rouge, was arraigned by video while in custody on May 27 by Judge Lisa Martin at 34th District Court in Romulus for robbing the Chase bank in Belleville on April 16.
Bellew refused to be fingerprinted, delaying the arraignment. Also “HIV Diagnosis – defendant may require medical” was put on his file.
On June 9 he was before 34th District Court Chief Judge Brian Oakley via zoom from the Wayne County Jail. Court-appointed attorney Lillian Diallo said she got the voluminous discovery with two different video tape links over the week end and she needed time to digest it all.
Judge Oakley scheduled Bellew’s probable cause conference before Judge Tina Brooks Green at 9:15 a.m., June 23.
Bellew also faces charges at 17th District Court in Redford Township for robbing a bank there on April 15, his birthday. His preliminary exam in Redford is set for 1 p.m., June 29. Diallo is also his defense attorney on that case.
Bail for the Belleville case is $5,000/10% and bail for Redford is unknown.
A warrant also is out for the arrest on bank robbery charges in both Belleville and Redford for Bellew’s co-defendant Scot Allen (or Alan) Hall, 34, of Port Huron, who allegedly drove the getaway cars.
After the bank robberies, Redford police had no description of the car involved, but Belleville PD had pictures of the bank robber and pictures of the car from surveillance tapes.
Belleville Police Chief Dave Robinson said Belleville sent the information to the Michigan State Police’s Detroit Fusion Center, which disseminates information to police agencies around the state. Redford police recognized the individuals and then found the car at a local motel and arrested two suspects.
Chief Robinson said the suspect entered the bank in Belleville and presented a note to the teller demanding money. There was no weapon seen or implied, he said.
The Belleville Chase bank also was robbed on Nov. 7 by a man who had robbed the Chase bank in Canton on Nov. 5. Joe Stafford, 55, of Powder Springs, GA, was sentenced to 4-15 years in prison after pleading guilty to the Canton robbery. In exchange for his guilty plea on May 25, the Belleville charge was dismissed.