Violent Bank Robbery Results in 30-Year Federal Prison Sentence

CHICAGO — A federal judge today sentenced a Chicago man to 30 years in prison for robbing a suburban bank at gunpoint.

MALCOLM CARPENTER and another man robbed a Bank of America branch in Homewood on Dec. 4, 2013.  Upon entering the bank, Carpenter announced a robbery and pointed a loaded handgun at a pregnant teller behind the counter.  He and the other robber then forced three female bank employees to lie face down on the ground while compelling the bank manager and a teller to open the vault and hand over cash.  The pair fled the bank with $80,288, but were soon arrested while hiding in a vehicle parked in a nearby apartment complex.

A jury last year convicted Carpenter, 38, of Chicago, on bank robbery and firearm charges.  U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer imposed the sentence in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Substantial assistance was provided by the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, the South Suburban Emergency Response Team, and the Homewood Police Department.

 “When defendant chose to rob a bank and point a loaded firearm at five innocent individuals, he also chose to put each of their lives at risk,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly Greening and Sean J.B. Franzblau argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “The victim bank employees suffered a lasting, human cost.”

The other robber, JUSTIN WILLIAMS, 30, of Calumet Park, pleaded guilty to bank robbery and firearm charges.  Judge Pallmeyer in 2016 sentenced Williams to ten years in prison.