United States Attorney Gregory G. Lockhart
Southern District of Ohio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Fred Alverson 614-469-5715

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2008

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ohs

DAYTON—Three 22-year-old Dayton men, Jeremy Lewis, Johnny Wilkerson, and Trey Geter, have been indicated by a Federal Grand Jury on multiple felony charges stemming from the armed robbery of Key Bank on Linden Avenue in East Dayton on December 4.

Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Division, Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl, and Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer, announced the indictment returned today in the United States District Court in Dayton. The case is assigned to United States District Judge Thomas M. Rose.

Lewis, Wilkerson, and Geter were each indicted on one count of armed bank robbery, two counts of using, carrying and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Lewis and Wilkerson were additionally charged with one count each of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The three were arrested on December 5 and have been in custody since their arrests. Following a detention hearing held earlier today, United States Magistrate Judge Sharon L. Ovington ordered that all three would remain in custody pending trial.

The FBI’s investigation of the crime revealed that Lewis, Wilkerson and Geter entered the front doors of the Key Bank on Linden Avenue at approximately 9:33 a.m. on December 4, with hoods covering their heads, gloves on their hands and facial coverings. Geter immediately fired a semiautomatic handgun into the ceiling of the bank lobby, followed by a demand for everyone to get to the ground. Geter and Lewis vaulted the teller counter, gathered money from the teller drawers, and then forced a teller to go and open the bank’s cash vault, while Wilkerson stood guard in the lobby. After the teller hesitated in opening the cash drawers, Geter fired his handgun once again, and Lewis assaulted the teller. The three men fled the bank after the teller was unable to open the vault.

According to the indictment, Lewis and Wilkerson have previous felony convictions. All three men face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years up to 25 years in prison on the armed bank robbery charge. The first count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum consecutive sentence of 10 years up to life, and the second count of discharging a firearm during a violent crime carries a mandatory minimum consecutive sentence of 25 years up to life. The conspiracy charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Lewis and Wilkerson each face up to 10 years in prison on the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

“The Federal Government enacts stringent penalties for violent crimes,” Lockhart said. “Those involved in bank robberies face rigid sentences in federal prison upon conviction.”

An indictment is an accusation based on a finding of probable cause, and the defendants are presumed not guilty unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Lockhart commended the collaborative investigation by agents of the FBI, Dayton Police Officers, and Montgomery County Sheriff Deputies. Deputy Criminal Chief and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vipal Patel is prosecuting the case.