Final Member of Crew that Robbed a Lanett, Alabama Bank Sentenced to Prison

            Montgomery, Alabama – On Wednesday, February 24, 2021, Lamartrez Oshun Story, a 24-year-old from Lafayette, Alabama, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for his role in robbing a Lanett, Alabama bank, announced U.S. Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr. In addition to his prison sentence, Story was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

            Two of Lamartrez Story’s co-conspirators, both from Lanett, Alabama, were sentenced late last year. In December of 2020, Jacobie Phillips, 27, received a 27-month sentence and Cordero Jakevion Story, 24, received an 84-month sentence in prison.

            Lamartrez Story was found guilty of bank robbery after a two-day trial that took place in November of 2020. Evidence during the trial revealed that, in July of 2018, Lamartrez Story participated in the robbery of a Lanett, Alabama bank as the getaway driver. The jury heard testimony that Lamartrez’s cousin, Cordero Story, decided to rob a bank and he solicited Lamartrez and a friend, Jacobie Phillips, to assist. Lamartrez Story drove Cordero Story and Phillips to the Farmers & Merchants Bank in a red Mustang on July 24, 2018. When they arrived, Cordero Story went into the bank, jumped over the counter, threatened the teller with a gun, and demanded money.  Phillips’ role was to enter the bank with bricks and put them just inside the bank door to prevent he and Cordero Story from being trapped inside. Lamartrez Story waited in the car. After grabbing $2,257.00 from the teller’s money drawer, Cordero Story and Phillips ran out of the bank, returned to the vehicle where Lamartrez Story was waiting, and they all sped away. While on the road, Cordero Story and Phillips began throwing some of the clothing they had worn, including gloves and masks, out of the car window. A short time later, a Chambers County Drug Task Force officer spotted the red Mustang and initiated a stop. Upon searching the vehicle, officers discovered a black and silver revolver, the money from the bank, and a green piece of paper with the bank teller’s login information. Law enforcement also recovered the clothing items that had previously been thrown out of the vehicle. The money stolen from the bank was returned.

            The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Lanett Police Department, the Chambers County Drug Task Force, the Auburn Police Division, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Megan Kirkpatrick and Stephanie Billingslea prosecuted the case.