Des Moines Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Credit Union Robbery

DES MOINES, Iowa – On April 23, 2019, Christopher Leon Weckman, age 53, of Des Moines, was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge Robert W. Pratt to 180 months (15 years) in prison for the robbery of the Tradesmen Community Credit Union announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum. Weckman was convicted by a jury on August 3, 2018.

Evidence presented at trial established that Weckman entered the Tradesmen Community Credit Union, located on Southeast 14th Street in Des Moines, in the late afternoon of September 25, 2017. Weckman, who concealed his face, placed an object on the counter – which he told bank employees and customers was a bomb. Weckman then demanded money from the bank tellers. After fleeing the bank, Weckman was apprehended a short time later by the Des Moines Police Department.

This matter was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.