James Convicted of Middleton Bank Robberies

Madison, Wisconsin -- Erik C. Peterson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jarrett M. James, 28, Madison, Wis., was found guilty today of committing two armed bank robberies. The verdict followed a three-day jury trial in U.S. District Court in Madison. The jury found James guilty of robbing Bank Mutual in Middleton, Wis., on March 16 and April 14, 2006. Chief Judge Barbara B. Crabb scheduled sentencing for September 5, 2008, at 1:00 p.m.

The government's proof at trial established that James robbed the Bank Mutual Branch on Century Avenue in Middleton during the morning of March 16 and again during the morning of April 14, 2006. During each robbery, James brandished a firearm and forced all of the employees, at gun point, into the vault where he then forced them to provide him the cash from the vault. James obtained approximately $62,000 in the first robbery and approximately $59,000 in the second robbery.

Law enforcement officials ultimately recovered both guns used during the robberies. The March gun was recovered from a safe belonging to James in a Madison residence; the April gun was seized during James' arrest by Nebraska law enforcement officials on gun and marijuana charges in May 2006.

Following the first robbery, James spent approximately $16,000 in cash, making purchases at American TV in Madison; he also paid $6,000 in cash as advance payments for an apartment in Madison. Following the second robbery, James paid $15,500 in cash (155 - $100 bills) for a used Lexus in Madison.

Following the second robbery, a very alert Madison citizen saw James acting suspiciously while James tossed a pink item in a dumpster near an apartment in Madison. The Madison Police Department responded immediately and retrieved what turned out to be a fleece, hot-pink glove identical to the gloves worn by James in the second robbery. The Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory was then able to match James' DNA to DNA taken from the glove.

In addition to the guilty verdicts on the two bank robbery charges, the jury also found James guilty on two related charges of brandishing a firearm during those robberies. On each of the bank robbery charges, James faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. On the first firearm charge, he faces a mandatory seven-year consecutive sentence; on the second firearm charge, he faces a mandatory 25-year consecutive sentence.

Today's guilty verdicts were the result of a lengthy investigation conducted by the Middleton Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Madison Police Department, the Dane County Sheriff's Department, and the Douglas County (Nebraska) Sheriff’s Department. Prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Vaudreuil.

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