A hapless crook has pleaded guilty to robbing a bank for just USD 754 while he was wearing a GPS ankle tag from his last crime.
Suspect Michael Conley Loyd, 30, persuaded a cashier to hand over the cash in Springfield, Missouri state, USA.
But he was still wearing an ankle tag from his last crime spree that let police track him almost instantly.
Newsflash obtained a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri dated Thursday, 17th November and saying: “A Springfield, Mo. [Missouri], man who was wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor at the time of the offense pleaded guilty in federal court today to robbing a Bank of America branch in Springfield last summer.”
The statement said Loyd pleased guilty before US Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of bank robbery following an investigation carried out by the local police and the FBI.
The statement added: “By pleading guilty today, Loyd admitted he stole USD 754 [GBP 639] from Bank of America at 633 W. Kearney in Springfield on July 20, 2022.”
The authorities explained that Loyd had approached an unnamed bank teller and handed her a note that read: “Give Your Money Now. Don’t Say Anything. I Have A Partner Outside.”
The teller complied and gave him the cash that was in her drawer, with Loyd then leaving the bank and driving away in a black Dodge Ram pickup truck.
The authorities added: “A few minutes later, investigators received a tip that Loyd may be the bank robber and that he was currently at Lazy Acres Mobile Home Park, where the truck’s owner lived. Law enforcement officers surrounded the residence and began calling out occupants of the residence.”
They explained that the defendant had been wearing an ankle monitor from a separate, unnamed case, which allowed the authorities to establish that he had been in the building at the time of the robbery.
They said: “Investigators compared a previous booking photo of Loyd to the surveillance photos from the bank. Investigators also learned that Loyd was on ankle monitoring as part of his state probation. LBS Monitoring confirmed that their tracking data indicated Loyd’s ankle monitor was inside the Bank of America at the time of the robbery.”
The statement added: “Loyd surrendered to law enforcement and admitted to robbing the bank. He told investigators that, as he was driving away from the bank, he saw patrol cars with their lights activated driving in the direction of the bank. He became scared and started throwing money out the window of the truck. Loyd didn’t know how much of the money he disposed of, because he didn’t know how much money he had stolen.
“Under federal statutes, Loyd is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.”
The US Attorney’s Office said that the case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Patrick Carney and that investigation work had been carried out by the Springfield Police Department and the FBI.