45-year-old Tucson man charged with bank robbery in Arizona, Texas

A federal criminal complaint has charged a Tucson man with bank robbery.

According to court documents, Sherman Edward Lester of Tucson, Arizona, robbed an El Paso GECU Credit Union at gun point on September 2, 2022.

The robber obtained an undisclosed sum of money and fled the bank, the documents unveiled.

The documents revealed that on September 14, 2022, Lester attempted to rob a US Bank located inside a Safeway Grocery store in Tucson. Forensic analysis of 9mm shell casings left at both crime scenes traced back to Lester.

Lester is charged with bank robbery and incidental crimes. The defendant remains in custody in Tucson and will have his initial appearance in El Paso before a U.S. Magistrate Judge within the next couple weeks and then the case will proceed to grand jury.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey, El Paso Field Office, made the announcement.

The FBI’s El Paso Violent Crimes Task Force and the El Paso Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit investigated the case.

The FBI Phoenix Tucson Resident Agency, with the assistance of the Tucson Police Department, investigate the attempted robbery of the US Bank and made the arrest.