White Bear Lake man pleads guilty to bank robbery
A 27-year-old White Bear Lake man pleaded guilty today in federal
court to one count of bank robbery in connection with the Dec.
13, 2007, holdup of the Central Bank in Mahtomedi.
Brian Lee Lockhart entered his plea May 6 in St. Paul before
United States District Court Judge Paul Magnuson. Lockhart was
indicted on Jan. 14.
According
to a Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit, the bank, located
at 3670 Century Ave. N., was robbed by a lone white male at
approximately 4:15 p.m. The robber presented a teller with
a note which read, “I want all the loose bills in
the drawer.” The robber fled on foot with $1,136.
A
few minutes following the robbery, a White Bear Lake Police
officer spotted a male fitting the robber’s description
walking near the intersection of Wedgewood Road and Highway 244
in Mahtomedi. The officer ordered the man to stop, and recovered
the $1,136, along with a demand note written on the back of a
Central Bank deposit slip. Lockhart was arrested.
Lockhart
faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Judge
Magnuson will determine Lockhart’s sentence at a
future date. This case is the result of an investigation by the
White Bear Lake Police Department, the FBI and the Washington
County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant
U.S. Attorney Ann Anaya.