Career Bank Robber Sentenced To 151 Months In Federal Prison

          KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN — U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney sentenced Edward Lucas, 37, of South Haven, Michigan, to 151 months in federal prison, Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced today. Judge Maloney also ordered Lucas to serve three years of supervised release following his release from prison and pay a special assessment of $100.

          On August 18, 2016, Edward Lucas robbed the Independent Bank of Sand Lake, Michigan. Lucas handed a manila envelope to a teller with these words on it: "This is a Robbery. 100s, 50s, 20s. No die packs." The teller gave Lucas $5,550, and he fled in a silver Chevy Impala. Twenty minutes later, a Kent County Sheriff’s Officer observed Lucas in a vehicle matching the description from the robbery. The officer attempted to stop the Impala, but Lucas led the officer on a high-speed chase, with speeds exceeding 90 mph. During the chase, Lucas ran head-on into an oncoming vehicle, which caused his vehicle to flip and roll several times. Responding officers pulled Lucas from the burning vehicle. Officers extinguished the fire and in the vehicle found the demand note and $5,550 in cash. Lucas previously was convicted of committing two bank robberies in 1999.

          Judge Maloney noted that Lucas seriously risked the lives of others in fleeing from the robbery. Judge Maloney also noted Lucas had a high risk of returning to bank robbery someday, given that he had two prior bank robbery convictions in Michigan state courts.

          The Kent County Sheriff’s Office, Michigan State Police, and Federal Bureau of Investigation jointly investigated Lucas’s case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Davin M. Reust prosecuted it.

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