DEFENDANT CHARGED WITH AGGRAVATED ARMED BANK ROBBERY

Hammond, IN—The United States Attorney's Office announced that on August 15, 2007 XAVIER H. MEDINA, age 24, of Highland, Indiana, was charged in a criminal complaint with Aggravated Armed Robbery with a dangerous weapon or device on August 13, 2006, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Sections 2113(a) and (d).

Members of the Merrillville Police Department were dispatched to the First Midwest Bank, at 611 West U.S. 30 Merrillville, Indiana in reference to a bank robbery. This bank is located inside the Meijer Department store. Merrillville Police Dispatch advised officers that a suspect wearing a tan hat and tan shirt had fled from the bank. Officers observed a male who matched the description given by dispatch walking in a wooded field near the bank. The male observed officers and took off running in an attempt to avoid arrest. The suspect was apprehended in a yard of a residence in Merrillville, Indiana.

This case was investigated by the FBI/Gary Response Investigative Team (GRIT), a local, state, and Federal task force focusing on drugs and violent crime in Northwest Indiana, and the Merrillville, Indiana Police Department. This case has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney David J. Nozick.

The specific sentence in each case to be imposed upon conviction will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The United States Attorney's Office emphasized that a complaint is merely an allegation at this time and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

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