Indiana – Two men from Texas have been sentenced to federal prison after admitting they carried out a pair of violent ATM robberies in Indiana, federal officials announced.
R’Vonte Berryman, who is 28 years old, got a seven-year prison sentence. Cregarius Jackson, who is 37 years old, was given a sentence of five and a half years.
Both men previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, bank robbery, and aiding and abetting. They were also told to pay back $407,339 in addition to going to prison.
According to the Department of Justice, the crimes started in 2022, when the two made a plan to fly from Texas to Indiana. Jackson went after a freestanding ATM at a PNC Bank location on West 38th Street in Indianapolis in the early hours of June 9, 2022, around 3:41 a.m. He broke the machine on purpose, which caused it to stop working and led to a service call.
The situation got worse when a technician showed up to fix it. Court filings say that Berryman and another accomplice confronted the worker and had him unlock the ATM. The technician had to give over $107,339 in cash.
On August 9, 2022, two months later, the identical strategy was employed again. This time, they were after a Bank of America ATM on River Road. The men disabled the machine and waited for a technician to show up.
Then they made the employee give them $300,000. The plan was simple and straightforward: break the machine, wait for a worker, and then use fear to get to the money inside.
U.S. Attorney Tom Wheeler for the Southern District of Indiana said the defendants traveled hundreds of miles to exploit financial services relied upon by everyday Hoosiers.
“These defendants traveled hundreds of miles across the country to prey on financial services that everyday Hoosiers rely on,” said Wheeler. “These violent schemes drive up costs, disrupt access to financial services, and put innocent people in danger. This sentence makes clear that exploiting our banking system and endangering the people who keep it running will carry serious consequences.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley emphasized the human toll.
“These men chose to use fear and force to steal. By coercing employees to open ATMs, they put innocent workers in fear for their safety and traumatized them,” said O’ Malley. “The FBI will continue working with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who threaten public safety.”
The investigation was led by the FBI. U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker imposed the sentences. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jayson W. McGrath prosecuted the case.
The case was handled as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement to combat violent crime and strengthen community safety.
