Iowa City Man Sentenced To 124 Months In Prison For Armed Bank Robbery And Possession Of Firearms In Furtherance Of Violent Crime
Department of Justice
Davenport, Ia – Following his earlier guilty plea on June 22, 2010, Charles Sila Curry, 20, of Iowa City, Iowa, was sentenced on December 3, 2010, to 40 months of imprisonment for one count of armed bank robbery, and 84 months of imprisonment for one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of violent crime, with the sentences to be served consecutively for a total prison term of 124 months, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge John A. Jarvey also ordered Curry to serve a term of 5 years of supervised release following his incarceration, pay $48,787.00 in restitution and pay $200 to the Crime Victims Fund.
On July 20, 2009 at 9:05 am the Iowa City Police Department responded to a
bank robbery that had just occurred at American Bank and Trust in Iowa City, Iowa. Prior to the robbery, Curry entered the bank and asked the teller how to setup a direct deposit of his paycheck. Curry told the teller that he had an account at another bank, although this was not true. He left the bank when told he was at the wrong bank. Curry was, in fact, casing the bank for his accomplice.
Within seconds of Curry leaving, a second man entered the bank dressed in a black hooded sweat shirt, pulled up over his head and closed around his mouth, black pants, black gloves and black tennis shoes. The accomplice was brandishing a black semiautomatic handgun. He pointed the handgun at the teller and moved behind the teller counter and demanded all the money. The teller complied and emptied her cash drawers into a bag. While pointing the handgun at the teller, the accomplice moved into the window teller area. He demanded money from three bank employees located in this area while pointing the handgun in their direction. Throughout the encounter the accomplice repeatedly yelled at the tellers to “fill this bag.” The accomplice eventually moved to the bank vault room where two employees opened the bank safe. According to one witness, the accomplice stated, “I’m going to give you ten seconds and then I’m going to shoot you.” The accomplice took all the money from the safe then left the bank, running across Scott Blvd. to an awaiting car. The amount taken was $70,536.
A North Liberty police officer informed investigators that he had heard that Curry told someone he would do whatever it takes to bond his friends out of jail. An investigator called the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office to alert them that Curry might try to bail out some of his friends. The Jail staff informed the investigator that Curry was presently at the jail turning himself in on a theft in the 5th degree charge, and that an associate was present with Curry to pay his bond.
Curry was bonded out of jail on a $325 dollar cash bond. The bond was paid with 16 twenty dollar bills and five one dollar bills. This cash was checked against the serial numbers of the bait money taken from the bank robbery. All 16 twenty dollar bills were listed on the serialized bait money sheet.
Curry and his associate were followed around the Iowa City/Coralville area as they went to various retail shops. They repeatedly purchased items with funds that included bait money taken from the bank.
Later in the evening Curry was observed returning to his apartment. He was searched after being placed under arrest. In his possession was more than $2100 in one hundred dollar bills.
A search of Curry’s residence yielded the following: twenty eight items purchased from various stores in and around the Coral Ridge Mall following the robbery; one hundred seventy six $100 dollar bills; and, one paper strap (for bundling currency) with American Bank & Trust, Teller #1603, 1 July 09@ stamped on the outside.
This investigation was conducted by the Iowa City, IA, Police Department, the Coralville, IA, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
