BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a Huntsville man for the Nov. 5, 2009, robbery of a Huntsville bank, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick Maley announced.

The one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges MATTHEW THOMAS HAYES, 23, with robbery of the Wachovia Bank at 10007 Memorial Parkway SW. HAYES entered the bank and presented a demand note to a teller. The teller responded by handing him about $3,000, the indictment says.

The maximum sentence for bank robbery is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“Banks and bank employees must be protected from criminals who think the money inside banks is there for the taking,” Vance said. “We work hard to prosecute anyone who robs, or otherwise unlawfully takes money from our banking institutions,” she said.

The FBI investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Stuart Burrell is prosecuting it.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only charges.  A defendant is presumed innocent and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

 

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