Montgomery, Alabama – On Monday, March 28, 2022, John Adam Vinson, Jr., 32, from Montgomery, Alabama, pleaded guilty to bank robbery charges and discharging a firearm while committing the crime, announced U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart.
According to the plea agreement and other court records, on December 14, 2020, Vinson entered the Regions Bank branch located near Eastdale Mall in Montgomery. Once inside, Vinson pulled out a handgun and fired a shot into the desk at an empty teller station. A bank employee in one of the offices heard the shot and came out of her office. Vinson immediately grabbed her and moved her to the door, which accesses the teller counters. When Vinson realized the employee could not open the door, he jumped over the counter and began opening the teller drawers. Vinson put money from the drawers into a bag, jumped back over the teller counter, and ran out of the bank. Vinson was spotted by a responding Montgomery Police officer across the street from the bank and was eventually arrested.
Vinson was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2021 for bank robbery, armed bank robbery, and discharging a firearm during a federal crime of violence. A sentencing hearing will take place in the coming months. Because of the nature of his crimes, Vinson is facing a sentence ranging from 20 years to life in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Montgomery Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Andreu is prosecuting the case.