Ohio Man Sentenced to 71 Months in Prison

FORT WAYNE –Bart Ely, 51 years old, of Ohio City, Ohio, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to bank robbery, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Ely was sentenced to 71 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $401.00 to the victim bank.

According to documents in the case, on June 4, 2021, Ely entered a bank in Bluffton, Indiana.  He wrote and presented a note directing the teller to not make a sound and give him money or he would shoot. After obtaining an amount of bank funds, Ely fled.  He was arrested later in the day after being identified from photographs posted by law enforcement. Ely’s criminal history includes several prior robbery convictions in Ohio.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Indiana State Police, the Bluffton Police Department, the Wells County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fort Wayne Police Department.  Federal, state, and local authorities in Ohio also assisted in this investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley J. Miller Lowery.

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