FEDERAL CHARGES ANNOUNCED AGAINST MAN CHARGED IN JULY 17, 2007 READING BANK ROBBERY

James H. Robertson, Acting Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cincinnati Division; Thomas H. Streicher, Jr., Chief of Police, Cincinnati Police Department; and Gregory T. Hilling, Chief of Police, Reading Police Department announced that Christopher Avery, age 21, of Cincinnati was arrested by FBI Agents and Reading Police Officers on Friday July 20, 2007 without incident.

Avery has been charged in a federal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio with violations of Title 18, U.S. Code Sections 2113(a)&(d) (Bank Robbery) and 924(c)(1)(A) (Use of a Dangerous Weapon in Committing a Crime). Maximum punishment permitted under federal law upon conviction of these crimes is imprisonment for 25 years.

The federal complaint charges that Avery and Andrew A. Butler robbed the Valley Central Savings Bank, 115 W. Benson Street, Reading on July 17, 2007 and in doing so that they brandished weapons including a pump shotgun and a semi-automatic pistol. The complaint further alleges that during the course of the robbery the pair pointed their weapons directly at bank employees and at one point one of the robbers racked the shotgun while it was pointed at the face of an employee. Butler and Avery were arrested a short time after the robbery by Cincinnati Police Officers. Both Butler and Avery were charged with state criminal violations on July 17. Avery was eventually released on bond. Butler remains in the custody of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. A federal complaint has also been filed against Butler and a federal detainer has been filed with the Hamilton County Sheriff should he be released on bond.

Avery will appear before a U.S. Magistrate today at 2 pm at the U.S. District Courthouse in Cincinnati for an Initial Appearance on the federal charges. The Magistrate will determine if bond will be permitted on the federal charges.

The public is reminded that criminal complaints are mere allegations of criminal conduct and that subjects are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.