Chicago Man Pleads Guilty to Robbery of Associated Bank in Rockford

ROCKFORD—A Chicago man pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges of bank robbery. Gregory E. Lockett, 39, of Chicago, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala to the robbery of Associated Bank, 3333 N. Rockton Ave., in Rockford, on May 10, 2011.

According to the written plea agreement, Lockett entered Associated Bank mid-afternoonon May 10, 2011 wearing a dark cap and sunglasses and carrying something that resembled—but was not—a handgun. Lockett admitted that he displayed the phony handgun to bank employees and customers, demanded money, jumped over the teller counter, opened three cash drawers, and took cash from each drawer totaling $8,549. Lockett then jumped back over the counter and ran from the bank. Lockett also admitted in the plea agreement that in the morning on May 7, 2011, he entered a Mobil gas station and convenience store and brandished a silver handgun, demanding the employee remove cash from the cash registers and give it to him. The employee took approximately $80 from two cash registers and handed it to the defendant, who then fled from the store.

The defendant has been in federal custody since he was arrested on May 11, 2011. Sentencing has been set for December 14, 2011, at 2:30 p.m.

Bank robbery carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and full restitution. The court must impose a reasonable sentence guided by the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The guilty plea was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.