R’Vonte Berryman, 28, and Cregarius Jackson, 37, both from Houston, Texas, have been sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in two ATM robberies in Indianapolis. Berryman received a seven-year sentence while Jackson was sentenced to five and a half years. Both men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by robbery, bank robbery, and aiding and abetting. They were also ordered to pay $407,339 in restitution.
Court documents state that Berryman and Jackson traveled from Houston to Indianapolis in 2022 as part of a series of ATM robberies. On June 9, 2022, at around 3:41 a.m., Jackson jammed an ATM at the PNC Bank on West 38th Street in Indianapolis. When a technician arrived to repair the machine, Berryman and another accomplice forced him to open the ATM and hand over $107,339.
On August 9 of the same year, they used a similar method at a Bank of America ATM on River Road in Indianapolis. After disabling the machine and waiting for an employee to arrive, they forced the technician to surrender $300,000.
“These defendants traveled hundreds of miles across the country to prey on financial services that everyday Hoosiers rely on,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “These violent schemes drive up costs, disrupt access to financial services, and put innocent people in danger. This sentence makes clear that exploiting our banking system and endangering the people who keep it running will carry serious consequences.”
“These men chose to use fear and force to steal. By coercing employees to open ATMs, they put innocent workers in fear for their safety and traumatized them,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’ Malley. “The FBI will continue working with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who threaten public safety.”
The FBI led the investigation into these incidents. U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker imposed the sentences.
U.S. Attorney Wheeler acknowledged Assistant U.S. Attorney Jayson W. McGrath for prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative designed by the Department of Justice that coordinates law enforcement efforts at all levels with community organizations aiming to reduce violent crime through trust-building strategies and focused enforcement priorities launched on May 26, 2021.
