Career Criminal Sentenced for Indianapolis Bank Robbery
INDIANAPOLIS — A career criminal from Indianapolis has been sentenced to over a dozen years behind bars for robbing a bank last year.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced on Thursday that Brinton Lenell Yates, 58, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 12 years and seven months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to one count of bank robbery. Yates was also ordered to pay $1,583 in restitution.
“Today’s sentence once again demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to seek lengthy sentences for violent repeat offenders,” said Tom Wheeler, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Regardless of the amount taken, any act of violence or intimidation against our financial institutions will be met with serious federal consequences.”
Court documents state that just before 11 a.m. on December 2, 2025, Yates robbed a Chase Bank located on North Meridian Street in Indianapolis. Yates left with $1,583 from a bank teller.
About an hour after the bank robbery, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Violent Crimes Task Force located Yates in a red Dodge Dakota near West 30th Street and arrested him. IMPD officers then searched Yates’ apartment and found the disguise he wore during the robbery.
“Threatening an employee and robbing a bank is a serious crime, and Yates’ lengthy criminal history makes clear that this was not an isolated incident,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “This sentence removes a repeat offender from our community and holds him accountable for his actions. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue career criminals who put our communities at risk and work to ensure they face justice in federal court.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and IMPD investigated this case as part of Operation Take Back America.
