Two Stillwater Men Sentenced in Theft from Lawton Bank

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK—Today, BRYAN ROSS BENTON, 24, and TYSON CHARLES MARTIN, 20, both of Stillwater, Oklahoma, have each been sentenced to ten months in federal prison for stealing money from a City National Bank branch in the Country Mart East Supermarket at 4510 Southeast Lee Boulevard in Lawton, announced John C. Richter, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. BENTON was sentenced on June 17; MARTIN was sentenced this morning. On May 27, 2009, a third defendant, TODD VINCENT RUDISILL, 22, of Lawton, was sentenced to 27 months in prison in connection with the theft and his embezzlement from the bank.

As both men have admitted in connection with plea agreements, BENTON and MARTIN staged a robbery of City National Bank before it opened on December 2, 2008. RUDISILL, the bank branch manager, contacted MARTIN the night before the staged robbery and explained that they could obtain a large amount of cash by pretending to rob the bank. RUDISILL’s goal was to conceal his embezzlement from bank auditors who had arrived at the bank unannounced. After BENTON agreed to assist MARTIN, they drove from Stillwater to Lawton and spent part of the night of December 1 with RUDISILL planning the staged robbery. The next morning, RUDISILL was at the branch at 7:30, when BENTON and MARTIN arrived. As BENTON admitted during his plea hearing, he entered the bank wearing a mask and gave RUDISILL a demand note. MARTIN waited in a car outside the supermarket where the bank branch was located. RUDISILL gave BENTON $62,290 in cash, which the FBI later recovered at MARTIN’s residence in Stillwater.

In addition to a prison terms of ten months, BENTON and MARTIN will each serve three years of supervised release.

These charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lawton Police Department, and the Stillwater Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris M. Stephens and Scott E. Williams.

Reference is made to public court filings for further information.