Portland Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Armed Bank Robbery

PORTLAND, Ore. – Jesse Lee Brockner, 32, of Portland, was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison for armed bank robbery and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Upon completion of his prison sentence, Brockner will be on supervised release for three years.

According to court records, on August 30, 2017, three men burglarized a barn in Yamhill County, Oregon, stealing the victim’s vehicle. Two of the suspects fled in the moving truck and a third in the victim’s vehicle. After Yamhill County Sheriff deputies located, arrested and interviewed the two suspects who fled in the moving truck, they identified Brockner as the third suspect. During a search of the moving truck, deputies found a backpack containing approximately $4,000, drug paraphernalia, and Brockner’s driver’s license.

Later the same morning, Brockner robbed a U.S. Bank branch in Beaverton, Oregon wearing a welding mask and holding a firearm. While executing the robbery, Brockner made numerous threats of physical violence and pointed a handgun at the victim teller. A witness observed Brockner walk through a parking lot adjacent to the bank and enter a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle stolen earlier that morning from the barn in Yamhill County.

Approximately two hours later, an FBI Task Force Officer with the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) observed a vehicle matching the description of the stolen vehicle on the 3900 block of SE Powell Boulevard in Portland. After confirming Brockner’s identity, multiple marked PPB patrol units responded to assist the Task Force Officer. A high risk traffic stop was attempted and led to a vehicle pursuit. The pursuit ended in a crash and an officer involved shooting at NE 55th Avenue between East Burnside Street and NE Couch Street in Portland. Brockner was arrested and transported to Legacy Emanuel Hospital to receive medical attention.          

Brockner previously pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113(a) and (d) and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) on May 2, 2018.

This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Craig Gabriel, Benjamin Tolkoff and John Brassell, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.