Two-Time Lubbock Bank Robber Pleads Guilty

A Lubbock man has pleaded guilty to robbing Lubbock’s City Bank and Aim bank, announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.

Matthew C. Courtney, 48, pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery by force, violence, or intimidation before U.S. Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant, Jr. on March 25.

According to plea papers, on February 21, Courtney admits that he entered City Bank in Lubbock wearing sunglasses and a black jacket with a fur-lined hood covering his head. When asked by a teller to remove the hood, Courtney refused and handed the teller a withdraw slip with the word written – “robbery.” The City Bank teller surrendered money to Courtney and he exited though the North end of the bank.

Lubbock Police were able to obtain a latent fingerprint from the blue withdraw slip which matched Courtney.

On February 24, Courtney admits he entered Aim Bank in Lubbock and approached a teller station with paperwork, cardboard, and a black bag. Courtney wrote on the cardboard “you’re getting robbed.” The Aim Bank teller put money into Courtney’s black bag which was positioned on the bank counter. As he exited, Courtney grabbed two of the teller’s business cards.

According to court documents, Lubbock Police Department determined that Courtney was located at Lubbock’s Embassy Suites hotel. Courtney admits he paid for the hotel room in cash approximately an hour after the Aim Bank robbery. When Lubbock Police searched the Embassy Suites hotel room, they recovered two black jackets matching the description of both bank robberies, cash inside a black hair dryer bag, and the Aim Bank teller’s business card floating in the toilet.

Lubbock Police Department received information that Courtney had moved to Lubbock’s Hilton Garden Inn. When officers arrived, they spotted a grey passenger car sitting near the front entrance of the hotel with its lights on. Courtney was in the front passenger seat with his head down. He had four $100 bills sitting in his lap and another $225 in cash in his wallet.

Courtney is facing up to 40 years in federal prison, $500,000 fine, and two three-year terms of supervised release. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Lubbock Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Haag is prosecuting this case.