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Eight Butler County banks have either been robbed or had attempts of robbery since January, and four robberies and one attempt have occurred since July 25.

"It is unusual, but it seems frequently in this line of work it happens in spurts," Fairfield Police spokesman Lt. Ken Colburn said of the recent rash of robberies.

Hamilton and West Chester Twp. police have charged six men in seven of the county's robberies. Two men — Seth Mize, 24, of Hamilton and Kenneth Crawford, 49, of Middletown — have been charged with two robberies each. Crawford is also charged with robbing a third bank in Franklin. Dustin Howard, 24, of Hamilton is also charged in a robbery and as an accomplice of Mize.

Fairfield is investigating an attempted bank robbery Aug. 5, where the suspected did not get away with any money. The attempt was made at First Financial Bank at the corner of Ohio 4 and Symmes Road.

Officials are also investigating two non-bank robberies that occurred one week later. Check 'N Go, 6625 Dixie Hwy., and Marathon, 5161 Dixie Hwy., were robbed within 12 hours of each other on Aug. 12. Each had two robbers who stole undisclosed amounts of cash.

The three Fairfield incidents occurred within a 3.5-mile stretch of Dixie Highway and were committed by men with weapons. Colburn did not comment on motives or the details of each investigation.

Hamilton police spokesman Officer Dave Crawford said before this year's six robberies, only two banks were held up in 2007 — both of which were solved through arrests.

"We have top-notch detectives that have investigated all of these robberies and the outcome has all been by arrest removing these dangerous criminals from the streets," Crawford said.

Crawford also didn't comment on motive among the four men arrested this year, but said all of this year's robberies were committed by white men and on the Hamilton's West Side.

West Chester Twp. police have charged two men in a July 10 National City Bank robbery. Police are waiting for Malik Rahmel Dillard, 26, and Zarquous Lequis Sanders, 24, both of Georgia, to be extradited. Both had been arrested on unrelated charges in New Jersey and Alabama, respectively.

The Butler County Sheriff's office handles extradition, and sheriff's office spokesman Monte Mayer said the two must go through the judicial process in the states where they were arrested before answering to the bank robbery charge.

Monroe Police have a suspect in the May armed robbery of Speedway on New Garver Road. The investigation is still ongoing, and it was initially reported the suspect is a black male between 20 and 25 years old.

Homicide update

Fairfield Police detectives are also investigating two homicides that occurred in July.

Police spokesman Lt. Ken Colburn said no new information on either investigation is available.

The first of the two investigations occurred July 13 when Marlon Aristides Enamoravo-Gomez, 21, and Evelvin O. Morales, 20, two native Hondurans who lived Cincinnati, where shot in the head near Casa Tequila and Arby's in the 6700 block of Dixie Highway. Morales died at the scene, and Enamoravo-Gomez died at Mercy Hospital Fairfield.

Witnesses reported there may have been more than one gunman.

Police are also trying to find out who killed Cincinnati attorney and Fairfield resident Margaret Allen, whose body was found in Schmidt Field Park in Cincinnati on July 27.

A couple of days after her body was found, Cincinnati Police handed the case over to Fairfield. Colburn had previously said detectives are going under the assumption her death occurred in city, but would not say where in the city.

Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper said investigators have a "primary suspect" and it won't be too long before an arrest is made, although he would not say specifically how long.

Will the recent rash of robberies change your banking habits?