Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Three Bank Robberies, Shooting at Jefferson County Deputies

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry on Thursday sentenced a man who committed three bank robberies and then shot at Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies before forcing his way into a woman’s apartment to 25 years in prison. 

Judge Perry also ordered Cameron A. Thomas, 31, of Florissant, to repay $19,262 to the banks he robbed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce said during Thursday’s hearing that Thomas’ robberies escalated in both seriousness and violence.

On Oct. 24, 2020, while dressed as a woman, Thomas handed a note to a teller at the First Community State Bank in Jefferson County that said, “put money in the bag,” 

Three days later, while Thomas was again disguised as a woman, he entered the Electro Savings Credit Union in St. Louis County, pointed a silver semiautomatic pistol at a teller and said, “Give me all your money.”

The next day, Thomas returned to the First Community State Bank wearing a red coat, black pants and a surgical mask. He said, “This is a robbery, put your hands up,” while pointing a pistol at an employee. He then put a white plastic bag on the counter and told another employee to fill it up.

Employees called police, and a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy who was in the area tried to stop Thomas after he left the bank. The resulting vehicle chase ended at the Walden Pond apartments in High Ridge. Thomas fled his vehicle on foot, firing multiple times at the deputies following him.

He then forced his way into a woman’s apartment at gunpoint. Deputies knocked at the door, and pulled the woman from the apartment when she signaled to them that something was wrong. Thomas then changed into the woman’s clothes and hid his 9mm pistol inside the apartment before his arrest. 

Thomas also admitted that on Oct. 22, 2020, he was in possession of an AK-47-style assault rifle. Police found the rifle in Thomas’ vehicle after a traffic crash. Thomas is a convicted felon and is barred from possessing firearms.

Boyce said Thursday that one of the banks that Thomas robbed was no longer allowing customers in the lobby due to security concerns.

Thomas pleaded guilty in August to two counts of armed bank robbery, bank robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

The case was investigated by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Boyce is prosecuting the case.