United States v. Gates

Defendant-appellant appeals from a jury conviction for armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113. On October 15, 1979, a branch of the Ohio Savings & Loan in Columbus was robbed of $20,000 by two males wearing facial coverings. One of the men remained in the lobby as a lookout man. The second, wearing sandals, a white hat, sunglasses, and a polka dot bandana over the lower portion of his face, took money from the tellers at gunpoint and ordered the manager to open the vault. The robbery occurred in the presence of the branch manager, assistant manager, three tellers, and two customers. The alarm system was triggered, and surveillance cameras took pictures of both men. Police Officer Haley responded to the alarm, drove to the bank, and pulled up within several feet of the suspects. Their facial coverings had been removed, and he was able to see their faces. The suspects took off running and were pursued by Haley on foot. As they ran, each of the two men lost a shoe; one was a sandal. The men entered a black, late-model Chrysler Cordoba with a 30-day temporary license plate taped to the rear window and sped away. A bag of money was recovered where the Cordoba had been parked. The two shoes and a discarded gun were also retrieved.