Salt Lake City Resident Accused of Robbing a Credit Union is Arrested and Charged

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City, Utah, returned an indictment February 21, 2024, charging a Salt Lake City man for allegedly robbing a credit union in West Valley City, Utah.  

According to court documents, Joey Shaun Symond, 44, of Salt Lake City, entered Cyprus Credit Union in West Valley City on February 10, 2024, and passed the teller a handwritten note that read, “I got a gun hand over the money or your dead.” The teller complied. Symonds then took the money and left the bank on foot, leaving the note behind. Management at Cyprus Credit Union then called 911 and a West Valley City Police officer responded. That same evening, at 4:18 p.m. Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake received a phone call from a person identifying themselves as a relative of Symonds. The caller reported that Symonds had been at their residence and claimed to have robbed Cyprus Credit Union two hours prior. UPD responded to the area and located Symonds a short distance from the caller’s residence. West Valley City Police also responded and Symonds was identified as the same person in the robbery using a suspect description and surveillance images from inside Cyprus Credit Union. Symonds was taken into custody and a large amount of cash was seized during his arrest. 

Symonds is charged with credit union robbery. His initial court appearance on the indictment was held on Feb. 23, 2024, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City. A two-day jury trial is scheduled for April 26, 2024.

U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement.

An FBI Task Force Officer with the West Valley City Police Department is investigating the case. 

Assistant United States Attorney Carlos Esqueda of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
 
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.