Jesse Bud Leaverton Gets Life for Tulsa Bank Robberies

TULSA, Okla. — Jesse Bud Leaverton, 58, is locked away for life after terrorizing the Tulsa metro area in a six-day bank robbery spree that ended with federal justice slamming shut the cell door for good. Armed with a firearm and a cold-blooded demeanor, Leaverton hit three banks in rapid succession, threatening tellers with death and leaving communities on edge.

The crime wave began June 18, 2016, when Leaverton stormed into Arvest Bank at 218 South Memorial Drive in Tulsa, flashed a gun, and demanded cash. Just five days later, on June 23, he struck again—this time at Bank of America, 5950 East Admiral in Tulsa. The following day, June 24, he crossed into Osage County and robbed Security State Bank in Fairfax, Oklahoma, directly threatening a teller with death. Each holdup was swift, violent in intent, and executed with the precision of a career criminal.

Leaverton didn’t stay free long. On June 30, 2016, the U.S. Marshals Violent Crimes Task Force tracked him down in Missouri, ending his run. By September 20, 2016, a jury had convicted him on all three counts of bank robbery. But this wasn’t Leaverton’s first time in federal court. He brought a mountain of prior convictions: burglary, manslaughter, and armed bank robbery—all felonies that painted a clear picture of a man who never left a life of violence.

Most damning? At the time of the Tulsa robberies, Leaverton was on federal supervised release after serving time for a previous Missouri bank heist—a crime that earned him 271 months behind bars. Instead of staying clear of the law, he doubled down. That history triggered Oklahoma’s federal three-strikes sentencing statute, sealing his fate under the harshest penalties the justice system allows.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell handed down the mandatory life sentence without parole, a move U.S. Attorney Danny C. Williams Sr. called both just and necessary. “Leaverton chose violence. He chose to terrorize working people doing their jobs. And he did it while under federal supervision. There is no place in society for that,” Williams said in a statement.

The investigation was a joint force of the FBI, Tulsa Police Department, Osage County Sheriff’s Office, Talala Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Violent Crimes Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neal C. Hong led the prosecution, ensuring Leaverton’s criminal past and present were laid bare for the jury. Now, the serial bank robber will spend the rest of his life behind bars—his final heist ending not in escape, but in a lifetime of confinement.