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Press Release

Two Men Sentenced for Robbing Lanett, Alabama Bank

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Alabama

            Montgomery, Alabama – This week, two men were sentenced for their roles in robbing a Lanett, Alabama bank, announced U.S. Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr. On Tuesday, December 15, 2020, Cordero Jakevion Story, 24, was sentenced to 84 months in prison, and on Monday, December 14, 2020, Jacobie Phillips, 27, received a 27-month sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.

            Court records show that Story pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, armed bank robbery, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a federal crime of violence in August of 2019. That same month, Jacobie Phillips pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and bank robbery. Both men are from Lanett, Alabama. A third member of their crew, Lamartrez Oshun Story, a 24-year-old from Lafayette, Alabama, was found guilty of bank robbery after a two-day trial that concluded on November 5, 2020. He will be sentenced early next year. The money stolen from the bank has been returned.

            During Lamartrez Story’s trial, evidence revealed that in July of 2018, Cordero Story decided to rob a bank and he solicited two others, his friend Jacobie Phillips and his cousin Lamartrez Story, to assist. On July 24, 2018, Lamartrez Story drove Cordero Story and Phillips to the Farmers & Merchants Bank in Lanett, Alabama in a red Mustang. When they arrived, Cordero Story put on gloves and covered his face with a bandana before getting out of the vehicle. Phillips got out of the car immediately after with bricks in hand while Lamartrez Story waited in the car. Cordero Story then ran into the bank and, a few seconds later, Phillips followed and put the bricks he was carrying just inside the bank door to prevent it from trapping the two robbers inside. While in the bank, Cordero Story jumped over the counter, threatened the teller with a gun, and demanded money. The teller pointed to the drawer and Cordero Story took all the cash out of the drawer. After grabbing all the money, totaling $2,257.00, Cordero Story and Phillips ran out of the bank, returned to the vehicle where Lamartrez Story was waiting, and they all sped away. While driving away, Cordero Story and Phillips began throwing some of the clothing they had worn, including gloves and masks, out of the car window. A short time later, a Chambers County Drug Task Force officer spotted the red Mustang and initiated a stop. Upon searching the vehicle, officers discovered a black and silver revolver, the money from the bank, and a green piece of paper with the bank teller’s login information. Law enforcement also recovered the clothing items that had previously been thrown out of the vehicle.    

            The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Lanett Police Department, the Chambers County Drug Task Force, the Auburn Police Division, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Megan Kirkpatrick and Stephanie Billingslea are prosecuting the case.

Updated January 22, 2021

Topics
Project Guardian
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Violent Crime