Man released from prison after bank robberies accused of robbing more banks, feds say
A 53-year-old man convicted in six bank robberies years ago is accused of robbing three more banks in California after his release from prison, federal officials said.
Rickey Lewis of Willowbrook pleaded guilty on Monday, Sept. 19 to three counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery, acts he’s accused of committing while on supervised released in 2019, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a news release.
He was out of prison after pleading guilty in 2006 in the robberies of six banks in south Los Angeles and Inglewood, the news release said.
An attorney for Lewis did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
During the 2019 robberies, Lewis stole $4,035 in cash from two JP Morgan Chase Banks in Gardena and an International City Bank branch in Long Beach, officials said in the release.
He also tried to rob a Bank of America in Downey, the release says.
In these robberies, he said he was going to shoot the tellers, but officials said it was not apparent that he a gun.
He also had clear tape on his fingers, which investigators said they believed was used to avoid leaving fingerprints behind.
Lewis faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count. He will be sentenced on Jan. 23.
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Man released from prison after bank robberies accused of robbing more banks, feds say."
