TAMPA, FL - A man with a long history of robbing banks has done it again while being out on supervised release. According to WPDE, 40-year-old John Charles Anderson has been sentenced to federal prison for his latest robbery.
Anderson will reportedly now have to serve 12 more years, followed by five years of supervised release. He is already serving three years for violating his last supervised release. With the latest incident, authorities said that Anderson had finished serving time for committing five bank robberies, but that within a month he had done it again.
They said he "armed himself, donned a mask and robbed a bank," which took place in January 2022. Federal authorities said that he "pointed what looked like a semi-automatic handgun toward the teller and demanded money and got away with $941 from SunTrust Bank in Tampa." They added, "Anderson was identified in part, by his distinct hand tattoos, which read 'KILL COPS' across his knuckles."
A week after the robbery, he escaped to Michigan and within a week, he escaped a traffic stop. Shortly after, he crashed the car into a wall at a gas station. He fled the scene on foot. When searching the car, officers found a loaded gun in the front seat of the car, which they said was stolen from South Carolina.
Officers found Anderson hiding in a garage where he was then arrested and taking into custody. In July, Anderson pleaded guilty to bank robbery with an assault by using a deadly weapon. In addition to being sentenced to prison, he is required to pay back the $941 he stole as restitution.
In a separate incident, a serial bank robber went on a robbery spree just eight weeks after being released from prison. Jaquan Lavon Smith, 31, will spend 12 and a half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to robbing four Indiana banks during fall of 2021.
The United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Indiana said that Smith was caught by FBI agents on October 18, 2021, after making a getaway from his fourth bank robbery within a 14-day span.
At the time of his arrest, FBI agents found more than $7,000 cash on Smith along with the most recent note he used during his most recent robbery of a BMO Harris Bank in Indianapolis. He pleaded guilty to robbing four banks between October 4, 2021 and October 18, 2021. Those banks were located in Indianapolis, Bainbridge and Lawrence.
According to authorities, Smith also robbed six banks in Indianapolis and one in Hamilton County over a 22-day span in the summer of 2018. He is also accused of crossing state lines and robbing a bank in Wisconsin that same year.
Smith was convicted for those robberies and was served two years in prison. He was then released on July 30, 2021, on parole. Eight weeks later, he began robbing banks until being caught by the FBI.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said, "Again and again, this career criminal chose to terrorize innocent bank employees in his pursuit of what he believed would be easy cash." Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Indianapolis Field Office, added, "The reign of terror of the defendant is over thanks to the outstanding investigative work and collaboration of the FBI and our law enforcement partners."
Anderson will reportedly now have to serve 12 more years, followed by five years of supervised release. He is already serving three years for violating his last supervised release. With the latest incident, authorities said that Anderson had finished serving time for committing five bank robberies, but that within a month he had done it again.
They said he "armed himself, donned a mask and robbed a bank," which took place in January 2022. Federal authorities said that he "pointed what looked like a semi-automatic handgun toward the teller and demanded money and got away with $941 from SunTrust Bank in Tampa." They added, "Anderson was identified in part, by his distinct hand tattoos, which read 'KILL COPS' across his knuckles."
A week after the robbery, he escaped to Michigan and within a week, he escaped a traffic stop. Shortly after, he crashed the car into a wall at a gas station. He fled the scene on foot. When searching the car, officers found a loaded gun in the front seat of the car, which they said was stolen from South Carolina.
Officers found Anderson hiding in a garage where he was then arrested and taking into custody. In July, Anderson pleaded guilty to bank robbery with an assault by using a deadly weapon. In addition to being sentenced to prison, he is required to pay back the $941 he stole as restitution.
In a separate incident, a serial bank robber went on a robbery spree just eight weeks after being released from prison. Jaquan Lavon Smith, 31, will spend 12 and a half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to robbing four Indiana banks during fall of 2021.
The United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Indiana said that Smith was caught by FBI agents on October 18, 2021, after making a getaway from his fourth bank robbery within a 14-day span.
At the time of his arrest, FBI agents found more than $7,000 cash on Smith along with the most recent note he used during his most recent robbery of a BMO Harris Bank in Indianapolis. He pleaded guilty to robbing four banks between October 4, 2021 and October 18, 2021. Those banks were located in Indianapolis, Bainbridge and Lawrence.
According to authorities, Smith also robbed six banks in Indianapolis and one in Hamilton County over a 22-day span in the summer of 2018. He is also accused of crossing state lines and robbing a bank in Wisconsin that same year.
Smith was convicted for those robberies and was served two years in prison. He was then released on July 30, 2021, on parole. Eight weeks later, he began robbing banks until being caught by the FBI.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said, "Again and again, this career criminal chose to terrorize innocent bank employees in his pursuit of what he believed would be easy cash." Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Indianapolis Field Office, added, "The reign of terror of the defendant is over thanks to the outstanding investigative work and collaboration of the FBI and our law enforcement partners."
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