Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

District of Nevada

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Armed Bank Robber Convicted By Las Vegas Federal Jury

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – One of two local men who violently robbed a Summerlin bank in January 2015, has been convicted by a federal jury of multiple felony counts, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada. 

Jerome Michael Bell, 26, of Las Vegas, was convicted on March 22, 2016, of one count of conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, one count of armed bank robbery, and one count of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.  Bell faces up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, up to 20 years in prison on the armed bank robbery charge, and a minimum of seven years consecutive on the firearm charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan on June 20, at 10 a.m.

“Using a firearm to rob a bank or commercial establishment is a very serious offense and typically harms multiple victims,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “We are working with our local police departments and the FBI to make sure these violent criminals are brought to justice, convicted and sentenced in the federal system.”

The co-conspirator, DeShawn Walker, 26, pleaded guilty on March 1 to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and one count of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1, at 10 a.m.

According to the court records and information submitted to the jury, on Jan. 2, 2015, at approximately 8:44 a.m., Bell and Walker entered the Summerlin bank wearing dark clothing, hooded sweatshirts, face coverings, and dark gloves. Bell was brandishing a loaded handgun and pointing it at the tellers, and Walker grabbed an employee from an office and threatened to kill the employee and a teller if they did not meet their demands. Bell robbed some of the tellers of their money, and then they forced all but one of the employees into a small room. Bell then demanded that the remaining employee open the vault, but when the employee was unable to do so, Bell and Walker ran from the bank with the stolen money. Bell left his revolver at one of the teller stations and they fled in a vehicle that had been rented by one of Bell’s relatives. Law enforcement agents and officers tracked the vehicle to an east-side location in Las Vegas and observed the vehicle crash into a truck. Bell was apprehended following a short foot pursuit, and Walker had jumped out of the vehicle before the crash and was apprehended from a shed in an individual’s back yard.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as part of the Safe Streets Task Force.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Newman and Brandon Jaroch