'Buckeye Bandit' Sentenced to 240 Months in Prison

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ikechi W. Emeaghara, 27, of Columbus, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 240 months in prison for eight counts of armed bank robbery. Emeaghara is the armed robber dubbed as the “Buckeye Bandit” by law enforcement.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Trevor Velinor, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Field Office; Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs; Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin; Delaware County Sheriff Russell L. Martin; Ohio State University Police Chief Craig Stone; Worthington Police Chief Jerry L. Strait, Jr.; Upper Arlington Police Chief Tracy Hahn and Gahanna Police Chief Dennis Murphy announced the sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham.

According to court documents, Emeaghara brandished a dangerous weapon and demanded cash from bank teller’s drawers on the following occasions:

• October 31, 2013 at the Wesbanco Bank on South Stygler Road in Gahanna

• November 30, 2013 at the Cooper State Bank on West 5^th Avenue in Columbus

• December 6, 2013 at the Wesbanco Bank on South Stygler Road in Gahanna

• July 9, 2014 at the Smart Federal Credit Union on North High Street in Columbus*

• January 12, 2015 at the Cooper State Bank on Sawmill Road in Columbus*

• April 26, 2015 at the Cooper State Bank on Sawmill Road in Columbus*

• March 17, 2016 at the First Merit Bank on East Powell Road in Powell

• October 21, 2016 at the Key Bank on Frantz Road in Columbus (original indictment)

* Denotes armed robbery charges that also include forcing one or more persons to accompany him within the bank.

Emeaghara was indicted by federal grand juries in initial and superseding indictments in November and December 2016. He pleaded guilty to eight counts of armed robbery in March 2017.

Emeaghara was also ordered to pay restitution to the banks and sentenced to five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the cooperative investigation by law enforcement and Deputy Criminal Chief Gary L. Spartis and Assistant U.S. Attorney Salvador A. Dominguez, who are prosecuting the case.

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