Bank robbers die in shootout

A pair of Czech bandits known as the "gentlemen robbers" for their trademark apologies in the midst of theft died during a shootout following an attempted bank robbery in Germany Dec. 10.

The "Bonnie and Clyde" style married couple, 38 and 40 years old, allegedly attempted to rob a branch of Volksbank in Karlsruhe, a city in southwest Germany, when they found themselves embroiled in a firefight with police. During the confrontation, one police officer was severely injured by a shot to the leg, and the male suspect was killed, after which the female suspect shot herself, according to police.

The injured officer is expected to fully recover, and the stolen 10,000 euros was found on the body of the man and returned to the bank.

For 15 years, the couple has been wanted by the German police on suspicion of stealing more than 2 million euros in more than 20 separate robberies. All that while, the couple lived a quiet life as Jaroslav and Růžena Beneš in Dubenec, a village 120 kilometers south of Prague, according to the Czech News Agency (ČTK).

The woman had a 20-year-old son also living in Dubenec who told the German weekly Bild am Sonntag that he had no idea his mother and stepfather were robbers. He said they told him they were going to visit friends in Prague when they set off to Karlsruhe. A widow, Růžena Beneš reportedly met Jaroslav in 1995, and a spate of robberies in towns across southwest Germany soon followed.

Neighbors in Dubenec told ČTK that the couple was extremely reserved and lived peacefully in a reconstructed house surrounded by a high wooden fence. Jaroslav, ironically, was thought to be a bank broker.

"There were never any problems with them. They only regularly visited the municipal authority to pay the bills," one Dubenec resident said. "They never attended any public events in Dubenec. No one ever complained of them; they really kept very quiet."

Cat Contiguglia can be reached at
ccontiguglia@praguepost.com