A Brooklyn, New York, man who was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List in 1988 today admitted robbing a TD Bank in Oakland, on April 2013, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
John Edward Stevens, 62, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to Count Two of an indictment charging him with armed bank robbery.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Stevens admitted that on April 15, 2013, he robbed a TD Bank in Oakland. After entering the bank, Stevens approached several bank employees while carrying a zipper pouch. He opened the zipper pouch, pulled out what appeared to be a black handgun, and brandished it at one of the bank employees. He then took several thousand dollars in cash and fled the scene.
Approximately 20 minutes after the robbery, law enforcement stopped a vehicle that was reported stolen. The driver of the stolen vehicle was identified as Stevens. Law enforcement arrested Stevens and located a TD Bank bag filled with money in the vehicle.
Stevens has been convicted of at least eight prior armed bank robberies in the Central District of California and the Southern District of Ohio. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement – if accepted by the court – Stevens will be sentenced to 240 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 7, 2016.