DEFENDANT CONVICTED OF BANK ROBBERY AND FIREARMS POSSESSION

A federal jury that deliberated for just over two hours convicted a 61-year-old North Carolina resident, Huel Locklear, on charges of Bank Robbery and being a Felon in Possession Of a Firearm, announced United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy announced today. Mr. Murphy was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The three and a half day trial was conducted before United States District Court Judge Avern Cohn.

“Bank robbery is a violent crime that endangers tellers, customers, guards, and all citizens living in the surrounding community. We are firmly committed to aggressively prosecuting such cases and to discouraging previously convicted felons from carrying firearms. Those who do will face serious consequences,” stated U.S. Attorney Murphy. Murphy also thanked the FBI and their state and local partners for their investigation and handling of the case.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on December 24, 2003, Adrian Police responded to a bank robbery at the Bank of Lenawee County in Adrian, Michigan. According to the tellers, witnesses, and the bank surveillance tape, the defendant entered the bank fully disguised from head to toe while wearing a green ski mask with blue cloth safety pinned over the mouth as well as red and white gym shoes. While ordering the tellers to the ground, the defendant leaped the teller counter and started removing money from the tellers’ drawers. He placed the money into a laundry type bag and fled to a waiting Toyota station wagon.

Approximately two weeks later, Livonia Police officers acting on a tip arrested the female driver of the Toyota station wagon. She then led Adrian Police and Lenawee County Sheriff’s.

officers to the defendant and his vehicle which contained firearms, the gym shoes, and disguise worn during the bank robbery. The Michigan State Police analyzed the cloth from the ski mask and the gym shoes. They found the defendant’s DNA present on the ski mask and the gym shoes were consistent with the foot prints left outside the bank and in the apartment complex where the Toyota was abandoned.

The case was the result of multi-agency cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Adrian Police Department, Livonia Police Department, Michigan State Police, and the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department. Mr. Murphy commended the effective cooperation of these agencies, as well as the excellent work of the trial team, lead by Assistant United States Attorneys Terrence R. Haugabook and Regina McCullough.

The defendant is detained without bond and will remain in custody until his sentencing date is set. Because the defendant has two prior convictions for crimes of violence, he is a Career Offender under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Although his sentence will be determined by the Court, the defendant faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment.