Houston Man Heads to Prison for Area Bank Robbery

HOUSTON—Terrance Trent Batiste, 21, has been ordered to prison for his involvement in the November 2012 robbery of Amegy Bank in Houston, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.

Today, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt sentenced Batiste to 60 months for conspiracy to commit bank robbery, as well as 78 months for aiding and abetting aggravated bank robbery, which will be served concurrently. He was also convicted of aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence for which he received a consecutive 84-month sentence for a total term of imprisonment of 162 months in federal prison. He will be further required to serve five years of supervised release following completion of the prison term.

Kendrick Deswhan Castille, 20, and Joshua Demond Clay, 29, also pleaded guilty to the bank robbery and are pending sentencing.

On November 7, 2012, at approximately 12:00 p.m., the Amegy Bank on 1502 Eldridge Parkway in Houston was robbed. Batiste, Castille, and Clay were apprehended by Houston Police Department (HPD) officers a short distance from the bank following a pursuit.

The investigation revealed that Castille and Batiste entered the bank wearing baseball hats. Batiste was armed with a dark colored revolver, which was given to him by Castille before they entered the bank. Castille and Batiste both jumped over the teller counter and demanded money from the victim teller. Clay did not enter the bank, but all three got back into their vehicle and fled after the robbery. After a pursuit by HPD, the vehicle carrying the defendants stopped into the Forest Park Cemetery, located at 12800 Westheimer in Houston, where it ran over and destroyed several tombstones. Clothing and hats worn by Batiste and Castille were recovered from the vehicle, along with a large amount of U.S. currency.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Bank Robbery Task Force and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennie Basile.