San Francisco Resident Known As The Dreaded Bandit Sentenced To Twenty One Years In Prison For Armed Bank Robbery And Related Crimes

SAN FRANCISCO – Andre Brown was sentenced today to 252 months in prison and ordered to pay $170,451 in restitution for four armed bank robberies and related crimes, announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Susan Illston, U.S. District Judge, following Brown’s plea of guilty to the charges.

Brown, 60, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty on September 1, 2017, to bank robbery, conspiracy to commit bank robbery, attempted armed bank robbery, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to the plea agreement, Brown admitted to committing four bank robberies in San Francisco and San Mateo at gunpoint between April 2016 and July 2016.  Brown admitted to stealing $170,451 from bank teller drawers and vaults over the course of those four robberies.  The plea agreement describes details of Browns crimes.  For example, the plea agreement indicates that during a robbery in San Francisco on April 22, 2016, Brown pointed a revolver at a bank employee and ordered bank employees to the vault room.  Brown also admitted to robbing a credit union in San Mateo on May 12, 2016, during which Brown ordered employees at gunpoint to the bank vault room.  Similarly, on June 23, 2016, Brown robbed a bank in San Francisco and on July 11, 2016, returned to the bank to rob it again.  Brown used a handgun during both robberies.

The FBI and the San Francisco Police Department identified Brown as a suspect in the robberies after the authorities dubbed the suspect the “Dreaded Bandit” because of the dreadlocked wig Brown wore during a robbery.   The investigation ended in Brown’s arrest in August of 2016.  Specifically, on August 12, 2016, Brown and a co-conspirator, Javier Jenkins, planned a fifth bank robbery in San Francisco after which Brown approached a bank wearing a disguise.  Brown intended to rob the bank, however, both Brown and Jenkins were arrested before completing their plan.  

A federal grand jury indicted Brown on February 28, 2017.  Initially, Brown was charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery, attempted armed bank robbery, using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Pursuant to the guilty plea, Brown pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113(a) and (d), and one count each of conspiracy to commit bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 2113(a); attempted armed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§  2113(a) and (d); and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).  

In addition to the prison term and restitution, Judge Illston also ordered Brown to serve a three-year term of supervised release.  Brown has been in custody since his arrest in August of 2016 and will begin serving the sentence immediately.

On August 18, 2017, Brown’s co-conspirator, Javier Jenkins, also known as Ollie Bryant, pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme.  Jenkins admitted serving as Brown’s getaway driver during the attempted bank robbery in August 2016.  On December 1, 2018, Judge Illston sentenced Jenkins to 63 months’ imprisonment for attempt to commit bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Lloyd-Lovett and Helen Gilbert are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Vanessa Vargas and Marina Ponomarchuk.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the San Francisco Police Department.