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Press Release

Third Man Charged in Bank Robbery Conspiracy

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York

ALBANY, NEW YORK –Brian Tierney, age 29, of Rustburg, Virginia, was arrested today for conspiring to commit bank robbery. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.

The criminal complaint alleges that between November 14 and November 26, 2022, Tierney agreed to and planned to commit an armed bank robbery at a bank branch in Johnstown, New York, with two conspirators, Luke Kenna and Michael Brown Jr. a/k/a “Doc Grimson.” Kenna, as part of that conspiracy, conducted surveillance of the bank and purchased items, including weapons, to commit the robbery.

Kenna and Brown have already been charged and arrested. 

Kenna appeared on December 21, 2022, in Albany federal court, and was ordered detained pending trial.

On December 14. 2022, Brown made an initial appearance in Philadelphia, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and was ordered detained and transported to the Northern District of New York.  Brown made his initial appearance today in Albany federal court, before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, and was ordered detained pending trial.

The charges in the complaints are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

The FBI Albany Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which includes FBI Special Agents, and federal, state, and local investigators, including from the New York State Police, is investigating the case. The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, the FBI’s Richmond Field Office and the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit also provided assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Wentworth-Ping is prosecuting the case.

Updated January 13, 2023

Topics
National Security
Violent Crime