Hogsett Announces Federal Charges in Armed Robbery of Bloomington Bank
Bloomington Man Faces Up to Life in Prison as Part of U.S. Attorney’s Violent Crime Initiative
| U.S. Attorney’s Office November 08, 2012 |
INDIANAPOLIS—Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today the federal indictment of John Lee Adams, III, age 22, of Bloomington, charging him with armed bank robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm following a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction.
“This indictment alleges a brazen robbery of a bank located in a busy residential and commercial neighborhood,” Hogsett said. “That kind of dangerous lawlessness has no place in Bloomington, and it has to stop.”
The indictment alleges that John Lee Adams, III committed an armed robbery of the 525 South Clarizz Boulevard branch of the Peoples State Bank, in the Hoosier Acres neighborhood of Bloomington, on November 15, 2011. Adams is also charged with brandishing a firearm during the armed robbery and being in possession of a firearm after being convicted for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, all in violation of federal law.
This prosecution comes as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Violent Crime Initiative and is the result of a collaborative seven-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bloomington Police Department.
“Through our Violent Crime Initiative, and in working with our law enforcement partners here in Monroe County, we’re sending a united message that crimes such as these will face the full force of federal law,” Hogsett added.
Announced in March 2011, the Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) represents a district-wide strategy to work with local law enforcement and county prosecutors to combat drug traffickers and criminals that use and carry firearms in their illegal activities. In the first nine months of the initiative, the VCI produced a dramatic increase in the number of gun-related charges brought federally—from just 14 felony possession charges in 2010 to more than one hundred last year. Already in 2012, 105 gun-related federal charges have been filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of the VCI.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Adams faces a maximum of life in prison and a $750,000 fine if convicted on all counts. An initial hearing was held in Indianapolis today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge, and Adams was ordered to be detained while he awaits trial.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.