Nevin L. Lenton, Bank Robbery, Illinois 2012

State: Illinois
Category: Violent Crime
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdil/pr/kankakee-man-serve-more-15-years-federal-prison-attempted-bank-robbery-and-possession" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

A Kankakee man has been sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for attempting to rob two banks in Kankakee in the fall of 2012.

Nevin L. Lenton, 26, was ordered to serve 188 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Michael P. McCuskey on November 14, 2013.

Lenton had pleaded guilty to three counts against him: attempted bank robbery, attempted aggravated bank robbery, and possession of a firearm by a felon on July 9, 2013.

According to court documents, Lenton entered Peoples Bank in Kankakee on September 17, 2012, with a bandana around his face and appeared to be brandishing a firearm. However, Lenton slipped and fell when he entered the bank, and when a bank security guard appeared and drew his service weapon, Lenton dropped the firearm and fled.

The firearm was later determined to be a pellet gun.

A month later, on October 22, 2012, Lenton told an unnamed individual that he planned to rob a bank in Kankakee. The next day, Lenton drove the individual to the residence of a Kankakee police officer and said that he had gone to the home earlier to break in and steal a firearm; however, because a light was on inside the house, he believed someone was home and he did not break in.

Lenton then drove to Mainsource Bank in Kankakee and told the individual in detail how he planned to rob the bank. When the individual reported Lenton’s plans to law enforcement, officers were able to introduce an undercover officer to Lenton.

At Lenton’s request, the undercover officer met Lenton in Chicago on October 25, 2012, and provided Lenton with two firearms. The undercover officer then agreed to accompany Lenton to Kankakee to assist with the robbery of Mainsource Bank. Once Lenton and the undercover officer arrived and parked within one block of the bank, officers arrested Lenton.

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