Local News
Man convicted of lesser crime in bank robbery trial
CLINTON — A jury acquitted Brett Thomas Ashley of second-degree robbery and convicted him of a lesser degree of theft, both of which were charges he faced in connection with an August bank robbery in Andover.
The seven-man, five-woman jury returned its verdict at 9:30 Wednesday morning in Clinton County District Court, after meeting for a second day of deliberations. The two-day trial ended Tuesday, and the jury spent about three hours in deliberations that afternoon before being sent home by Judge Charles H. Pelton at the end of the day without a verdict.
Ashley, 25, of Bettendorf, originally faced charges of second-degree robbery and first degree theft, class C felonies that each carry a possible 10-year prison sentence.
Ashley’s attorney, public defender Gary Koos, argued against the robbery charge during the trial Tuesday, although he did not deny Ashley’s act of theft. According to law, a charge of second-degree robbery dictates an assault taking place.
Koos argued that Ashley did not assault the teller he demanded money from during the bank robbery, since no weapon was displayed and no physical contact was made.
Clinton County attorney Mike Wolf, who prosecuted the case for the state, argued during the trial that the law’s definition of assault includes placing a victim “in fear of immediate physical contact, which would be painful, injurious, insulting or offensive.”
The jury’s conviction on a lesser charge of second-degree theft is a class D felony, and carries a prison sentence of up to five years. While first-degree theft dictates a theft off a person or from a person’s immediate presence, second-degree theft is defined by the theft of something between $1,000 and $10,000 in value.
After the jury’s verdict was announced Wednesday, Wolf said their decision was fair.
“I’m thankful that the matter was resolved, that no one was hurt, that the money was returned, that there was a fair and clean trial and that all the issues were before the jury,” said Wolf.
Ashley robbed the Clinton National Bank branch in Andover on Aug. 13. He entered the bank just before 3:30 p.m., wearing a hat, mask and dark clothing. He was not carrying a weapon.
He demanded money from one of the two tellers on duty at the time, telling her to fill up a plastic bag he was carrying with money from her cash drawer.
Ashley fled the scene with $2,667. He was apprehended in a cornfield near Andover about six hours later, after police from numerous agencies set up a perimeter and used aircraft and canine units to search the area.
“We’re very happy with the outcome of the case,” Koos said. “I think it was a fair and just verdict. The jury did a great job.”
Ashley’s sentencing is set for Jan. 14 at 2 p.m. at the Clinton County Courthouse.
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