Central Illinois Man Sentenced for Bank Robberies

DAVENPORT, IA—On August 5, 2011, Morris Dean Thompson, III, age 27, of Gays, Illinois, was sentenced to 92 months’ imprisonment in connection with three bank robberies in Southeast Iowa and one in Kentucky, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge John A. Jarvey also sentenced Zasareti to three years’ supervised release following imprisonment and restitution to the victims of the robberies.

On April 9, 2010, Thompson and his co-defendant, Nicholas Zasareti, robbed the Community First Credit Union in Ottumwa, Iowa. A few hours later, the pair robbed the Wayland State Bank in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. On August 17, 2010, Thompson alone robbed the PNC Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, and on September 16, 2010, Zasareti and Thompson again robbed the Wayland State Bank in Mt. Pleasant. A total of over $27,500 was taken during the four robberies.

Shortly after the Wayland State Bank robbery on September 16, 2010, an alert Trooper of the Iowa State Patrol observed a suspicious van eastbound from Mt. Pleasant and recorded the license number. Detectives later learned from the van’s registered owner that the van had been borrowed by Zasareti and Thompson. After evidence from the bank robbery scenes linked Zasareti and Thompson to the robberies, they were arrested in Central Illinois. Thompson’s arrest involved a high-speed vehicle chase and followed by pursuit on foot.

This case was investigated by the Ottumwa and Mt. Pleasant Police Departments, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Iowa.