Kentucky Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Kentucky man who robbed over $32,000 from a bank in Wayne County pleaded guilty today, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Steve Ray Meeks, 62, of Louisa, Kentucky, entered his guilty plea to bank robbery. U.S. Attorney Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, the Louisa, Kentucky, Police Department, the Kentucky State Police, and the West Virginia State Police.

“Meeks was determined to rob the Community Trust Bank and he was ultimately successful,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  “But thanks to the quick response and teamwork of West Virginia and Kentucky law enforcement agencies, he was quickly apprehended and brought to justice.”

Meeks admitted that on January 12, 2018, he robbed the Community Trust Bank in Fort Gay. The day before, Meeks admitted that he had approached the bank with his hood over his head and a ski mask covering his face and tried to get in after the bank had closed. During the morning staff meeting at the bank prior to opening, the bank employees discussed the individual they saw who had tried to get in the day prior. After that meeting, the same individual with the exact same clothes on tried to get in the bank again before it opened. Meeks admitted that he left and returned to the bank after it opened, when he could get in the unlocked door. Meeks further admitted that upon entering the bank, he brandished a weapon that appeared to be a handgun, requested that the tellers put all the money in a bag he brought with him, and threatened to shoot or kill them all.

Following the robbery, Meeks admitted that he drove into Kentucky with a Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy pursuing him, who then shortly after entering Kentucky, turned over the pursuit to a Louisa Police Department officer. Meeks admitted that during the pursuit, he threw large sums of cash from the robbery out the window. Law enforcement deployed stop strips to flatten his tires and Meeks was apprehended. The weapon from the robbery was later found in Fort Gay along the path where Meeks initially fled on foot, and it was discovered to be a BB gun that resembled an actual handgun, without an orange cap on the barrel or any other safety markings to indicate otherwise. Investigators and bank employees determined that the amount Meeks robbed was approximately $32,372.00.    

Meeks faces up to 25 years in federal prison when he is sentenced on October 22, 2018.

Assistant United States Attorney Clint Carte is responsible for the prosecution. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the plea hearing.

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