MURPHYSBORO - The two men accused of robbing the First Southern Bank last November used a police radio and a gun issued by the Carbondale Police Department to help them pull off the heist, prosecutors alleged Friday.

Those details were among the many revealed through the testimony of investigators at the preliminary hearing for suspended Carbondale Police Officer James D. Gaddis and his Murphysboro neighbor, Anthony Mitchell Fike.

Investigators also testified both Gaddis and Fike admitted to involvement in the robbery.

Fike, 35, and Gaddis, 26, are charged with armed robbery, which State's Attorney Mike Wepsiec alleged was motivated by money troubles for both men.

With friends and family gathered in the courtroom, Fike pleaded not guilty Friday while Gaddis' attorney, Bryan Drew, did not enter a plea.

Fike, who is free on $50,000 bond, arrived wearing a sport coat and khakis, a stark contrast to Gaddis' prison-issue orange winter coat and shackled ankles. Gaddis is being held on $1 million bond, and Judge E. Dan Kimmel denied a motion by Drew to lower it.

Until Friday's hearing, authorities had released few details about the October robbery. They said two men wearing full-face helmets pulled up to the First Southern Bank on Old Murphysboro Road on a motorcycle.

Surveillance cameras photographed one man holding three tellers at gunpoint and the other man emptying cash drawers before the two sped away with $22,800 cash.

Among the new details revealed Friday, police officers testified that:

• Planning for the robbery began in the summer.

• Gaddis placed a bogus 911 call that diverted most of Carbondale's available police officers away from the bank just minutes before the robbery.

• While reviewing bank surveillance footage, investigators recognized Gaddis' face through the open visor of the motorcycle helmet.

• Fike alleged that Gaddis suggested burglarizing homes posted on a watch list of citizens who ask for extra police patrols when they expect to be out of town. Fike further alleged Gaddis singled out since-retired Police Chief Bob Ledbetter's home as a probable target.

• Seeing two men on a motorcycle, one of them stuffing a gun in a duffle bag, an Illinois Department of Natural Resources officer attempted to block the suspects' getaway and followed the motorcycle before being outrun.

• Fike was stopped twice on his motorcycle by police officers in the hour after the robbery.

• Despite covering the gas tank and license plate on the motorcycle, witnesses described the bike with enough detail for police to trace it to Fike.

Carbondale police Lt. Paul Echols and Illinois State Police Detective Michael Ryan provided the testimony.

Ryan also testified Gaddis, under questioning, told him that both before and after the robbery, he feared for his life and the safety of his family because of alleged drug debts owed by Fike.

Gaddis and Fike are scheduled to appear in court March 11 for conferences to determine if they are prepared for trial.

blackwell.thomas@thesouthern.com / 618-351-5823