Source: United States Department of Justice News
Law enforcement officers including FBI Task Force agents and FBI SWAT officers arrested Bruce Armstead, 66, of Cincinnati on March 29 on charges that he committed five bank robberies in the Cincinnati area between November 2021 and January 2022.
A federal indictment was unsealed following Armstead’s arrest.
The indictment alleges that Armstead robbed
– a U.S. Bank in Lockland on November 2, 2021 and again on November 13, 2021
– a Huntington Bank on Galbraith Road in Deer Park on December 8, 2021
– a 5/3 Bank in Wyoming, Ohio on December 14, 2021 and
– a US Bank on Hamilton Avenue in Mt. Healthy on January 7, 2022
The grand jury charged Armstead with three counts of bank robbery, two counts of armed bank robbery in connection with the robberies on December 8 and January 7, and two counts of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.
Each count of bank robbery is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Armed bank robbery is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Use of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence is punishable by a mandatory minimum seven-year sentence.
“The FBI along with investigators from the police departments in Lockland, Deer Park, Wyoming, and Mount Healthy began investigating Armstead based on information they obtained from bank surveillance videos and interviews with bank employees,” said Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “The cooperation between agencies was crucial to securing the indictment.”
Armstead was arrested near his residence in South Cumminsville.
U.S. Attorney Parker along with J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, Interim Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge, Lockland Police Chief Darin Lunsford, Deer Park Police Chief Michael F. Schlie, Wyoming Police Chief Brooke Brady and Mount Healthy Police Chief Vincent L. Demasi announced the indictment and the arrest.
Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Springer is representing the United States in this case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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