Wichita Man Convicted of Robbing Oklahoma Fidelity Bank in Edmond

OKLAHOMA CITY—Yesterday, a federal jury found MARK EUGENE JOHNSON, 53, of Wichita, Kansas, guilty of robbing the Oklahoma Fidelity Bank at 1127 East Second Street in Edmond, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Evidence at trial showed that Johnson entered the Oklahoma Fidelity Bank around 9:30 a.m. on January 22, 2010, approached a female teller, and showed her a device he called a detonator. Johnson demanded money from the teller and threatened to mash the detonator. The teller handed Johnson money from her teller drawer. Johnson left the detonator on the teller counter and walked out of the bank. Evidence at trial also showed that minutes after the robbery, Edmond Police officers took Johnson into custody on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma. He and his clothing matched the bank employees’ description of the robber. At the bank, bomb technicians with the Edmond Police Department examined the detonator and determined the device was a hoax.

Johnson was indicted on February 2, 2010, for the bank robbery. At trial, the jury heard one day of testimony and deliberated approximately 90 minutes before reaching a guilty verdict.

Johnson will be sentenced in approximately 90 days. At sentencing, Johnson faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole, a fine of $250,000, and mandatory restitution to the bank.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Edmond Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris M. Stephens and David L. Walling.