Husband and Wife Indicted in Bank Robbery

Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, today announced that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against husband and wife, Michael A. Watson, age 32, and Nickie S. Taylor Potts Watson, age 27, both of Tennessee, in connection with the robbery of a Northeast Ohio Bank. The one-count indictment alleges that Nickie Watson aided and abetted Michael Watson in the use of force, violence and intimidation to rob the Chase Bank, 632 East Market Street, Akron, Ohio, of $2,362.00 on December 10, 2008.

The actual sentence in this case will be determined by the Court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ roles in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all case the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The case was presented to the grand jury by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel J. Riedl following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

An indictment is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.