Liberty County Man Sentenced for Beaumont Bank Robberies
| U.S. Attorney’s Office September 18, 2012 |
BEAUMONT, TX—A 46-year-old Daisetta, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for a string of bank robberies, including two in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
John Steven Stark pleaded guilty on May 3, 2012 to two counts of bank robbery and was sentenced to 169 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark. Stark was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,390.17.
According to information presented in court, on January 30, 2012, Stark entered the Bank of America at 2625 Calder in Beaumont and handed a teller a note stating, “This is a bank robbery.” The teller complied with the demands of the note and provided the man with the cash from her teller drawer totaling $3,338.
On February 2, 2012, Stark robbed the Comerica Bank branch office located at 3135 Southwest Freeway in Houston. Stark used a note which he handed to a bank teller before making off with $2,632.
Surveillance video captured several images of the man during the robberies, which was then circulated by broadcast news. The man was identified as Stark and he was arrested on February 8, 2012 in Beaumont following a third bank robbery.
This case was investigated by the FBI, the Beaumont Police Department, the Houston Police Department, and the Daisetta Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Craft.