Indiana Man Sentenced to 24 Years for Armed Bank Robbery

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Jetson Lawrence Bryant, 48, of Indianapolis, Indiana, was sentenced to serve 24 years in prison for committing the armed robbery of the Chemical Bank in Van Buren County, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today.

The Honorable Robert Holmes Bell, U.S. District Judge, presided over the sentencing. Bryant was sentenced to total of 288 months (24 years) of incarceration and $2,460 in restitution. Upon release, Bryant will have to serve five years’ supervised release. In imposing the sentence, Judge Bell expressed concern over Bryant’s lack of respect for the law and the danger he posed to others. Bryant was previously convicted of committing six bank robberies in 1994. He served his sentence and was released in 1999. In 2000, he was convicted of robbing three more banks. He was sentenced to serve 108 months and was released in 2008. At the time of the current offense, he was still on supervised release.

On June 25, 2011, Bryant entered the Chemical Bank located in Van Buren County. He presented a demand note that threatened that he would start shooting. Bryant showed the tellers that he had a gun. He obtained money from three bank tellers and then fled on foot. Law enforcement responded to the scene and canvassed the area. Bryant was discovered coming from a wooded area near the bank. He was arrested and still had the money from the bank, the demand note, and a starter pistol. Bryant pled guilty on September 23, 2011, to armed bank robbery and using a starter pistol to commit the bank robbery. As part of his guilty plea and sentence, Bryant also acknowledged responsibility for the robbery of Fifth Third Bank, in Holland, Michigan, on April 9, 2011.

The investigation of this matter was conducted by the FBI. Prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru.