CINCINNATI — On Tuesday, police, FBI Task Force agents and FBI SWAT officers arrested 66-year-old Bruce Armstead near his home in South Cumminsville.
He is charged with committing five bank robberies in the Greater Cincinnati area between Nov. 2021 and Jan. 2022.
A federal indictment accuses Armstead of robbing a U.S. Bank in Lockland once on Nov. 2, 2021 and then again on Nov. 13. It goes on to accuse him of robbing the Huntington Bank on Galbraith Rd. in Deer Park on Dec. 8, 2021, a 5/3 Bank in Wyoming on Dec. 14 and a U.S. Bank on Hamilton Avenue in Mt. Healthy on Jan. 7.
During at least the Dec. 8 robbery in Deer Park and the U.S. Bank robbery in Mt. Healthy, Armstead was armed, according to officials.
Kenneth Parker, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said the FBI worked with local law enforcement in the neighborhoods hit by the robberies. Officials began investigating Armstead based on bank surveillance videos and interviews with bank employees.
He's charged with three counts of bank robbery, two counts of armed bank robberies and two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence.
If found guilty on all charges, Armstead could face a maximum sentence of around 124 years in prison; each count of bank robbery carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, each armed bank robbery charge carries a maximum of 25 years and use of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum 7-year sentence.
