Four Sentenced In Lansing Credit Union Robberies

          GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles announced the sentence today for the last of four co-defendants, all from Detroit, in a pair of Lansing credit union robberies. U.S. Chief District Judge Robert J. Jonker sentenced Brennen Jackson, age 25, to 92 months in federal prison; Kiarra Pennymon, age 27, to 33 months; and Maurice Clark II, age 25, and Darnell Rowell, age 21, each to 37 months.

          On September 3, 2015, Jackson, Pennymon and Clark robbed the DFCU Financial on S. Pennsylvania Avenue in Lansing. Jackson recruited Clark to commit the robbery, and Jackson and Pennymon drove Clark from Detroit to Lansing, stopping at a store along the way to buy makeup to cover Clark’s tattoos and colored contacts to disguise him. Pennymon admitted to assisting by casing the credit union, and she and Jackson waited in the getaway vehicle while Clark went in with a demand note and stole $40,000. Less than a week later, on September 8, 2015, Jackson and Pennymon recruited Darnell Rowell and returned to the same credit union. Jackson and Pennymon waited in the getaway van while Rowell entered the credit union with a demand note and stole $35,000. The three were apprehended by police on the highway fleeing the scene. All but $200 that was stolen in the second robbery was recovered upon their arrest.

          Pennymon and Clark pled guilty to the September 3, 2015, robbery, and Jackson and Rowell pled to the September 8th robbery. All four defendants will serve three years of court supervision after they are released from prison and were each ordered to repay the credit union through restitution. The Lansing Police Department, Ingham County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tessa K. Hessmiller.

          In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles stated, "This case represents another example of local and federal investigators working together to protect our community. The quick work of the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office and Lansing Police Department in apprehending the robbers undoubtedly protected the community from future robberies by this group."

           "The sentencing of Brennen Jackson demonstrates the resolve of the FBI and our local law enforcement partners to identify those responsible for robberies of Michigan financial institutions," said David P. Gelios, Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Division of the FBI. "As part of that effort, the FBI encourages the public to use a free FBI mobile application called BANK ROBBERS, which allows members of communities to review information about unsolved bank robberies. With the public’s help, we can become even more successful in identifying, arresting, and prosecuting subjects who pose a significant threat to the public."

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