SAN FRANCISCO – LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire – United States Attorney Scott Schools announced today that defendant Timothy Wayne Phillips pleaded guilty yesterday to committing three Bay Area bank robberies in a nine-day period in February 2006. The convictions are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Francisco and San Jose Police Departments.
Phillips, age 40, admitted that he robbed the Citibank at 590 Market Street in San Francisco on February 13 and 22, and robbed the Washington Mutual Bank at 55 West Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose on February 17, 2006. Phillips took a total of $6,920 during the three robberies.
In March 2006, a federal grand jury charged Phillips with three felony counts of unarmed bank robbery in violation of Title 18 United States Code § 2113(a). A trial had been set for August 6, 2007.
As part of the plea agreement, Phillips agreed to a fourteen-year prison sentence, followed by five years of supervised release. Phillips also agreed to pay $6,920 of restitution to the banks.
Phillips will be sentenced October 3, 2007, by United States District Court Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton in San Francisco. The Judge may accept or reject the agreed upon sentence.
Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Rees and Jeffrey Finigan, and Nathanael Cousins, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, prosecuted the case with the help of Nai Saelee and Rawaty Yim. The prosecution is the result of an FBI investigation, with the assistance of the San Francisco and San Jose Police Departments.
Further Information:
Case #:CR 06-0179 PJH
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.
Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Natalya Labauve (415.436.7055)
