Fugitive Bank Robber, On The Run For Nearly 5 Years, Pleads Guilty To Federal Charges

A convicted bank robber who absconded from supervised release and committed crimes across two states pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to escape, being a felon in possession of a firearm and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle, announced Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes. BRADLEY STEVEN ROBINETT, 46, will be sentenced by U. S. District Judge James L. Robart on May 4, 2015. ROBINETT was arrested in Hillsboro, Oregon, in June 2014, after being on the run for nearly five years. ROBINETT was arrested after police, using an automated license plate reader in a shopping mall parking lot, determined the car he was driving had been stolen in King County, Washington. The police officers waited for the driver to return to the vehicle and arrested ROBINETT without incident.

According to court filings, ROBINETT was convicted of bank robbery, and in 2004 was sentenced to seven years in prison. In August 2009 he was released from a federal prison in Arizona and put on a bus to Seattle with the requirement that he report to a specific halfway house within 48 hours. ROBINETT never reported to the halfway house and a warrant was issued for him for escape. In September 2009, police on Bainbridge Island, Washington attempted to stop a car that led them on a high speed chase. ROBINETT was driving the car, fled from it and got away. Inside the car officers found a Glock 9mm pistol and a ballistic vest. Both items were stolen from the Seattle Police Department several years earlier. The vehicle ROBINETT was driving was reported stolen in Oregon. Prior to his arrest in June, the last time law enforcement saw ROBINETT was in November of 2009, when Washington State Patrol detectives encountered ROBINETT at a Park & Ride facility in Bellevue. At the time, ROBINETT was operating a stolen vehicle. ROBINETT attempted to ram a WSP vehicle before fleeing the area. The WSP trooper driving the vehicle managed to avoid the collision, but ROBINETT was able to escape.

In addition to his bank robbery conviction, ROBINETT has prior felony convictions for possession of stolen property (King County and Clallam County), unlawful possession of a machine gun, car theft and burglary (King County).

In 2011, ROBINETT was featured on the programs Washington’s Most Wanted and America’s Most Wanted.

The investigation was a joint effort between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Washington State Patrol (WSP), the Bainbridge Island Police Department, and the Hillsboro, Oregon Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mike Dion.