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Press Release

Nebraska Man Sentenced for Sioux Falls Robberies

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Dakota

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that an Omaha, Nebraska, man convicted of two counts of Bank Robbery was sentenced on June 1, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Ferris Valentine, age 54, was sentenced to 262 months in federal prison, 5 years of supervised release, restitution to First National Bank in the amount of $217,966, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $200.

Valentine was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 6, 2019. He was found guilty as a result of a federal jury trial in Sioux Falls on March 3, 2020.

On November 15, 2016, Valentine, aided by a partner, robbed the First National Bank branch bank located on West 26th Street in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The day before the robbery, Valentine rented a car in Omaha, Nebraska, and drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with his accomplice.  When they robbed the bank, each wore a mask covering their faces.  Valentine was armed with a handgun and demanded the bank employees give him the money in the teller drawers and the vault.  Both robbers left the bank before the police arrived.

On November 24, 2017, Valentine robbed the same bank again, but without a partner.  He wore the same mask and once again, used a firearm to order the bank employees to comply.  He grabbed money from the vault and escaped.

After the second robbery, a DNA match connected Valentine’s partner to the first bank robbery, which subsequently led to the charges against Valentine.

The total monies taken from the bank robberies amounted to around $278,000.  First National Bank’s deposits were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

This case was investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy R. Jehangiri and Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.

Valentine was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Updated June 1, 2021