Police: School bus dispatcher was bank robbery getaway driver

ORLANDO, Fla.,None — Police said a woman who usually directs Orange County school bus drivers was behind the wheel during a bank robbery.

Sharon Reynolds-Bell is a longtime employee of the Orange County School District, and Titusville police said she drove a car for her husband as he robbed a TD Bank earlier this month.

Reynolds-Bell has worked for Orange County public schools for nearly 24 years.  Now, the alleged bank robber is suspended with pay, which means she gets $17.20 per hour.

Police said Reynolds-Bell, a longtime school bus dispatcher, was also a getaway driver for her husband.

"I'm not guilty.  And that's all I have to say, according to my lawyer," said Reynolds-Bell.

Reynolds-Bell did not want to talk to Eyewitness News about the bank robbery she and her husband are charged with committing.

"Police are saying you're the getaway driver," said Eyewitness News reporter Lori Brown.

"Well, like I said, if you want to talk to anyone you need to talk to my lawyer, because I didn't do anything wrong. Thank you," said Reynolds-Bell.

The Bells have signs up warning people they have surveillance cameras at their home.  Ironically, it is surveillance cameras that captured the bank robbery.

Court records from last month show that Reynolds-Bell dropped her husband off at the TD Bank in Titusville.

Police said Johnny Bell went into the bank wearing a wig and sunglasses.  He passed a note to the bank teller that read, "give me the money."

The teller put $1,200 in Bell’s bag, along with GPS tracking device.  Then, he got back in the car and told his wife to leave.

Records show Reynolds-Bell asked her husband, "how much did you get?" and "was it worth it?"

However, she told her friend she did not know her husband robbed the bank until police arrested him.

"I feel really bad for her.  She got pulled into something she didn't know anything about," said a friend of Reynolds-Bell who did not want to be identified on camera.

Court records show that Reynolds-Bell admitted to the robbery, and that she told police she and Bell had several fights over finances.

Eyewitness News found out Johnny Bell served 16 years in prison for attempted first-degree murder.

WFTV