EAST ST. LOUIS - A Missouri man entered a guilty plea Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, for robbing two Illinois banks, including one inside a Schnuck's grocery store in Edwardsville.
Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on November 10, 2016, Brendon M. Collier, 39, of St. Louis, Missouri, pled guilty to an indictment charging him with two counts of bank robbery.
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The offense charged in Count One arose when, on January 28, 2015, Collier, aided and abetted by another individual, who has already pled guilty and been sentenced, went to a U.S. Bank branch located inside of a Schnuck’s grocery store in Edwardsville, Illinois. Collier approached the teller claiming that he needed to make a withdrawal but handed the teller a note that demanded loose bills that were $20s or over, and said “no alarm.”
The offense charged in Count Two arose when, on February 10, 2015, Collier and his accomplice went to a second U.S. Bank branch located inside of a Schnuck’s grocery store in Fairview Heights, Illinois. During the second robbery, Collier again told a teller that he needed to make a withdrawal. On this occasion, Collier handed the teller a note demanding money quickly and that no one would get hurt.
Collier faces a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of not more than five years on each count.
The defendant’s sentencing has been scheduled for February 24, 2017, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Collier has been held without bond since his arraignment on July 16, 2015.
Collier was apprehended after he and his accomplice robbed a third U.S. Bank branch located inside of a Schnuck’s grocery store in St. Peters, Mo. Collier confessed to the St. Peters robbery as well as the two bank robberies in Illinois, claiming that the robberies were motivated by his need to buy heroin and pay for hotel rooms and food.
The case was investigated by the Edwardsville Police Department, the Fairview Heights Police Department, the Illinois State Police Metro-East Forensic Laboratory, the St. Peters, Missouri, Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.
