Man gets federal prison sentence for bi-state bank robbery spree

A man was sentenced in federal court for a bi-state bank robbery spree in 2023.

Tyrone Leslie, 40, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in January to four counts of bank robbery at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis and, this week, was handed a prison sentence of seven years and four months.

One of those counts included the unarmed theft of $4,125 from FCB Bank in Caseyville, according to court records.

“Bank robbers like Tyrone Leslie threaten the safety of the community, even when they are not carrying guns,” said Steven Weinhoeft, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. “It is no defense that Leslie used threatening notes instead of more violent means.”

The other robberies included the U.S. Bank on Tesson Ferry, People’s National Bank on Hampton Avenue and PN Bank on Manchester Road, all in St. Louis. The Missouri charges were transferred to the Southern Illinois District, however, so all counts could be prosecuted simultaneously, according to a release from Weinhoeft’s office.

In all, Leslie admitted to stealing $12,879 from the four banks over a three week period from Nov. 14 to the Caseyville robbery on Dec. 4, 2023, court records show.

Caseyville police received a call for help at 4:49 p.m. on the day of the robbery. A man entered the bank and asked about opening an account before he then went behind the counter to take money from the cash drawer.

He fled to Missouri, where law-enforcement officers saw the getaway vehicle and captured Leslie in the 3100 block of Delmar Avenue in St. Louis after a high-speed pursuit, according to police at the time.

The Caseyville Police Department led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and Laura Reppert prosecuted the case.