Skip to main content
Press Release

Tulsa Metro Area Serial Bank Robber Sentenced To Life Imprisonment

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Oklahoma

TULSA, Okla.— TULSA, Okla.—Chief United States District Court Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Jesse Bud Leaverton, 58, to life imprisonment under the three-strikes sentencing statute for robbing three banks in the Tulsa metro area, announced Danny C. Williams Sr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Leaverton went on a bank robbery spree that begun on June 18, 2016, with the robbery of the Arvest Bank at 218 South Memorial Drive in Tulsa. On June 23, 2016, Leaverton robbed Bank of America at 5950 East Admiral in Tulsa and on June 24, 2016, Leaverton robbed Security State Bank in Fairfax, Oklahoma. Leaverton threatened the bank tellers with the use of a firearm and, in addition, threatened the Security State Bank teller with death.

Leaverton was located by the United States Marshals Violent Crimes Task Force in Missouri on June 30, 2016. On September 20, 2016, a jury found Leaverton guilty of all three bank robberies. Leaverton has an extensive criminal history. He has been convicted of numerous felonies, including: burglary, manslaughter, and armed bank robbery. Before he committed the instant robberies, Leaverton was convicted of robbing a bank in Missouri and received a sentence of 271 months. He was on federal supervised release when he committed the robberies in the Tulsa metro area.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tulsa Police Department, the Osage County Sherriff’s Office, the Talala Police Department, and the United States Marshals Violent Crimes Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Neal C. Hong prosecuted the case.

Updated December 30, 2016