A 50-year-old man who currently resides in Crossville has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for robbing three banks in West Knoxville over a timespan of three days.
Robert Z. Whipple, III, 50, was sentenced to nearly six years (70 months) in prison by the Honorable Katherine A. Crytzer, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville on Friday.
Citing a written plea agreement filed with the court, the Eastern District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney’s Office reports that Whipple robbed a Home Federal Bank, First Horizon Bank, and Fifth Third Bank, all of which are located in West Knoxville. Whipple robbed one bank each day from March 5 to March 7, 2020, and he took approximately $6,950 in total.
Whipple was apprehended on the evening of March 7, 2020 at a Red Roof Inn hotel in Knoxville and, during a search of his hotel room and vehicle at the time, law enforcement located over $4,000 in cash and several items that he used to commit the bank robberies, including a wig and a demand note.
Whipple pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with three counts of bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) as part of a plea agreement filed with the court, according to the Eastern District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Once released from prison, Whipple will be on three years of supervised release and required to pay restitution to the victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Whipple’s criminal indictment was the result of a joint investigation by the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). His sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee; and FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Background Photo “Courtroom” by Carol M. Highsmith.
