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An arrest warrant is active for Dustin Shane Howard, 24, who did not appear in court following a bank robbery conviction. Now, he is a suspect in another holdup. Those with information are asked to call Hamilton police at (513) 868-5811, Ext. 0.Click to enlarge

HAMILTON — A Hamilton man on the run from being sentenced to prison for a bank heist held up another bank, police said.

A warrant for the arrest of Dustin Shane Howard, 24, of Hunt Avenue, has been issued by Judge Andrew Nastoff in Butler County Common Pleas Court. Howard is suspected of robbing the First Financial Bank, 970 Main St., at around 9:45 a.m. Friday, July 25, police said.

Howard pleaded guilty June 9 to a robbery charge stemming from the March 12 holdup at the Somerville National Bank, 75 Brookwood Ave.

He never showed up for his July 18 sentencing hearing, said Hamilton police spokesman Rich Burkhardt.

In that holdup, Howard was the getaway driver for 24-year-old Seth Mize, a serial bank robber sentenced July 18 to 15 years in prison for two bank robberies.

Police said Howard on Friday allegedly used the same method Mize used in his holdups. The bank teller told police that a white male with a tattoo on his neck wearing a ball cap handed her a note demanding money that stated he had a gun; though no weapon was displayed, according to reports.

An off-duty police officer was in the bank at the time, but was unaware of the robbery taking place, according to records. The robber got away with an undisclosed amount of cash, but witnesses told police he fled in a gold colored Toyota Corolla.

Before Howard was arrested for the Somerville robbery, police said Howard and Mize used the holdup cash to travel to Las Vegas to find jobs but returned after running out of money.

Anyone with information regarding Howard's whereabouts is asked to call Hamilton police at (513) 868-5811, Ext. 0.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or rwilson@coxohio.com.