MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WRBL) – On Thursday, John Adam Vinson, Jr., 32, from Montgomery, Alabama, received a 360-month prison term after convictions for bank robbery and discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime, announced U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart.
According to Vinson Jr.’s plea agreement and other court records, Vinson Jr. entered the Regions Bank branch near Eastdale Mall in Montgomery, Alabama, on Dec. 14, 2020. Vinson Jr. immediately pulled out a firearm and fired a shot into the desk of an empty teller station.
A bank employee came out to her office after hearing the shot, and Vinson Jr. grabbed the employee and moved her near the door that allowed access to the teller counters.
After realizing the employee could not open the door, Vinson Jr. jumped over the counter and opened the teller drawers. Vinson Jr. put money from the drawers into a bag and ran out of the bank.
While escaping on foot, Vinson Jr. was spotted by a Montgomery Police Officer. After the officer confronted him, Vinson Jr. fired his gun at the officer. The officer did not suffer any injuries.
Law enforcement later took Vinson Jr. into custody and confiscated $18,378.
In addition to a 30-year prison term, Vinson Jr. must serve five years of supervised release.
The Montgomery Police Department, the FBI, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency investigated Vinson Jr.’s case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark E. Andreu prosecuted the case.