Des Moines Man Found Guilty of Bank Robbery and Gun Charges

DES MOINES, IA—Robin T. Brooks, Jr., age 27, of Des Moines, was found guilty today by a jury in federal court of bank robbery, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence or using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt

U.S. Attorney Klinefeldt said: “I handled this case myself to demonstrate how much of a priority the safety of our community is to my office, and how much of a priority it is for my office to work cooperatively with our federal, state, and local partners. This case was a good example of federal, state, and local law enforcement working together. In particular, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Des Moines Police Department did a great job on this case.”

On May 13, 2011, Brooks entered the Tradesmen Community Credit Union on Second Avenue in Des Moines, and handed the teller a note stating that he had a gun and demanding money. The teller complied and gave Brooks approximately $5,900, but also included a GPS tracking device with the money. Brooks then fled the bank and got into a waiting getaway car. Law enforcement immediately began tracking him. Brooks eventually abandoned the getaway car and stole a van from a woman who had just gotten into it to drive to the store. The Des Moines police were able to find the van and eventually captured Brooks in a chase that ended with Brooks running the van into a squad car and being shot. Inside the van, Des Moines police found the GPS tracking device. They also recovered approximately $5,300 from Brooks’ blue jeans.

Des Moines police found a loaded .45 Ruger handgun at the scene of the van theft. They also found the getaway car parked in the vicinity of where the van was stolen. Inside that car, Des Moines police found several items that were then linked to Brooks. In addition, the Des Moines police and the FBI were able to recover photos and a video from the cell phone found in the van that appeared to be of Brooks holding a gun that resembled the gun found at the scene of the van theft.

Brooks was remanded to custody pending sentencing. The sentencing will be set at a later date. Brooks now faces up to 35 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Des Moines, Iowa, Police Department, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.