Brevard County Man Sentenced to 215 Months for Bank Robbery

ORLANDO, FL—U.S. Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces that Senior U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp today sentenced Otis Alex Jones (age 40, of Brevard County) to 215 months in federal prison for two different bank robberies of a Palm Bay branch of Regions Bank. The second robbery involved the use of a firearm. As part of the sentence, the court also entered a restitution order in the amount of $22,612. This amount represents the value of the proceeds of the bank robberies. Jones was found guilty by jury trial on July 23, 2010.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Jones robbed the Regions Bank branch at 4805 Babcock Street, N.E., Palm Bay, Florida of $17,600 on April 10, 2009 and again on April 29, 2009, when he was able to take $5,012. That branch is no longer in operation. The first time he robbed the bank, Jones presented a note stating: "I WANT $20 GRAND IN 20 SECOND'S NO DIE PACK'S NO TRACER OR YOU DIE FIRST 18 SECOND'S HAS PAST!!" The second time Jones robbed the bank, he used a handgun. Although he tried to hide his face using a dark bandana, bank employees immediately recognized Jones from the first robbery when he entered the bank branch on April 29, 2009 waving a gun.

This case was investigated by the Palm Bay Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney E. Jackson Boggs Jr.