Two Charged with RBC Robbery

BIRMINGHAM—A federal grand jury today indicted two Birmingham residents in connection with the April 13 robbery of Royal Bank of Canada in Bessemer, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley and Bessemer Police Chief Nathaniel Rutledge.

Count One of the three-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges both ANDRE LYNEAL WALLACE, 33, and JAWANA KESHUN JACKSON, 24, with armed bank robbery. Count Two charges both with using and carrying a firearm during the bank robbery. Count Three charges only Wallace as a convicted felon in illegal possession of a firearm on the day of the robbery.

Should Wallace and Jackson be convicted of the bank robbery charge, they face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Upon conviction for Count Two, each would face an additional, consecutive prison sentence of not less than10 years and a fine of $250,000. Conviction under Count Three for Wallace could bring him a sentence of up to10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“Anytime a firearm is used to commit a crime, the potential for harm to innocent bystanders is multiplied,” Vance said. “We are committed to prosecuting these types of cases. I am proud of the hard work of the Bessemer Police Department and the FBI in investigating this case,” she said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Simpson is prosecuting the matter on behalf of the United States.

The public is reminded that the indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.