ROCKFORD, IL-(ENEWSPF)- An Erie, Ill. man pleaded guilty December 19 in federal court to bank robbery. The defendant, Todd G. Jensen, 43, of Erie, Ill., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala to the robbery of Community State Bank, 1801 First Avenue, Rock Falls, Illinois, on Aug. 29, 2011.
According to the written plea agreement, the Jensen entered Community State Bank on August 29, 2011, at approximately 1:27 p.m., wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, a t-shirt with ‘Aeropostale’ printed on it, a dark hooded sweat jacket, blue jeans, and white shoes. Jensen approached a bank teller, handed the teller a note demanding money and stating that he was armed with a gun. Jensen admitted that after receiving approximately $3,500 from the teller, he placed the money inside his sweatshirt, retrieved the note from the counter and left the bank. After leaving the bank, defendant entered his vehicle and drove to Chicago, Illinois.
Jensen has been in federal custody since his arrest on Sept. 2, 2011. Sentencing has been set for April 3, 2012, at 9:30 a.m.
Bank robbery carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and full restitution. The court must impose a reasonable sentence guided by the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The guilty plea was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation; Michael Kuelper, Chief of the Rock Falls Police Department; and Kelly Wilhelmi, Whiteside County Sheriff.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.
