Getaway Driver In Bank Robbery Sentenced

Gregory Gilmer, Jr., 34, of Belleville, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Court Judge Michael J. Reagan to 70 months in federal prison for armed bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

According to court documents, Gilmer, Cortez Beckman, and Jimmie Rhodes agreed to rob the Gateway Metro Federal Credit Union in Swansea, Illinois on April 30, 2013. Gilmer served as the getaway driver, while Beckman and Rhodes went inside the credit union armed with a BB gun and stole $10,092.00. The three men fled the scene. Law enforcement in Belleville attempted to stop the getaway car. When the car would not, a vehicle chase ensued. The getaway car crashed, and the three men fled on foot. Beckman was found under a chicken coup with the robbery proceeds and arrested. Rhodes and Gilmer were arrested a short time later. All three men pled guilty and are serving time in the Bureau of Prisons.

Chief Judge Reagan sentenced Gilmer to a total of 70 months in federal prison: 60 months for the conspiracy to commit bank robbery and 70 months for armed bank robbery to run concurrently. There is no parole in the federal prison system. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Reagan also sentenced Gilmer to serve 3years of supervised release. United States Attorney Wigginton stated, "I am pleased with sentence imposed by Chief Judge Reagan. The prosecution of this bank robbery demonstrates my office’s sincere commitment to doing everything we can to assist law enforcement in targeting, investigating, and prosecuting those individuals that seek to profit from violent crimes. Hopefully my Armed Robbery Initiative, coupled with prosecutions of any kind of theft or robbery, will make our communities safer places to live and work."

The Swansea, Illinois, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case with the assistance of the Belleville, Illinois, Police Department and the Illinois State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Monica A. Stump prosecuted the offense.