Four Bank Robbers Sentenced to Federal Prison

PHOENIX—Four bank robbers were sentenced to federal prison yesterday in two separate cases. Lee Jay Brimmer, 32, of Queen Creek, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James A. Teilborg to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in April 2009, to four counts for Bank Robbery. Brimmer’s co-defendant, Lauren Ashley Lindsay, 25, also of Queen Creek, was sentenced by Judge Teilborg to 63 months for one count of Bank Robbery. She also pleaded guilty in April 2009.

In this case, Brimmer and Lindsay robbed Wells Fargo Bank and Compass Bank at different locations in the East Valley throughout 2008, on July 22, October 29, November 7 and November 13. During the robberies, Lindsay presented notes to the tellers which demanded money and referenced Brimmer and Lindsay’s possession of a gun. Following a press release issued by Wells Fargo Bank in November 2008, a caller provided a tip identifying Brimmer and Lindsay as the robbers shown in surveillance photos. Brimmer and Lindsay were arrested for these robberies on November 20, 2008.

Alessia Spadaro, 23, and Christopher Vincent Hamilton, 29, both of Phoenix, were also sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a single bank robbery in Glendale, Ariz., by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow. Spadaro was sentenced to 37 months and Hamilton to a total of 44 months(30 months for Accessory After the Fact and 14 months for violating his supervised release from federal prison). On April 2, 2009, Spadaro pleaded guilty to one count of Bank Robbery. Hamilton pleaded guilty to one count of Accessory After the Fact on June 8, 2009.

In this case, Spadaro entered a Bank of America and presented the teller a note threatening the use of a gun on November 29, 2008. Hamilton had been out of federal prison just six months, after serving 72 months for armed bank robbery, when he drove Spadaro to Tucson. Spadaro then boarded a bus and fled the state.

The investigation in these cases were conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Bank Robbery Task Force. The FBI has partnered with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the Mesa Police Department, the Phoenix Police Department, the Scottsdale Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to form the Bank Robbery Task Force in order to investigate, arrest and seek prosecution of those responsible for robbing banks in the Valley. In addition to the Task Force, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the investigation in the first case and the Glendale Police Department assisted with the second case.

The prosecution in the first case was handled by Christina J. Reid-Moore. The prosecution in the second case was handled by Alison S. Bachus. Both are Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the District of Arizona in Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER: CR-08-1491-PHX-JAT (Brimmer and Lindsay)

CASE NUMBER: CR-08-1492-PHX-GMS (Spadaro and Hamilton)

RELEASE NUMBER: 2009-280(Bank robberies)