St. Louis man sentenced to prison for unarmed bank robberies

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A district court judge sentenced a St. Louis man to 87 months in federal prison after he admitted to robbing four banks in less than three weeks in 2023.

Tyrone Leslie, 40, pleaded guilty in January to four counts of bank robbery. One count was charged in the Southern District of Illinois, and the other three were charged in the Eastern District of Missouri. The Missouri cases were transferred to southern Illinois to be prosecuted simultaneously.

“Bank robbers like Tyrone Leslie threaten the safety of the community, even when they are not carrying guns,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “It is no defense that Leslie used threatening notes instead of more violent means.”

According to court documents, Leslie robbed the U.S. Bank on Tesson Ferry Road in St. Louis of $2,740 on Nov. 14, 2023. On Nov. 17, he robbed the People’s National Bank on Hampton Avenue in St. Louis of $964. Leslie robbed the PNC Bank in St. Louis on Manchester Road of $5,050 on Dec. 2. He tried to take $4,125 from the FCB Bank in Caseyville, Illinois, on Dec. 4.

Following the FCB Bank robbery in Caseyville, Leslie led police on a high-speed chase.

The Caseyville Police Department led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and Laura Reppert prosecuted the case.