From the U.S. Attorney:
MAN SENTENCED TO 76 YEARS IN PRISON FOR VIOLENTLY ROBBING OR ATTEMPTING TO ROB FOUR BANKS IN CHICAGO WHILE ON PAROLE FOR PRIOR BANK ROBBERIES
CHICAGO — A federal judge has sentenced a man to 76 years in prison for violently robbing or attempting to rob four banks in downtown Chicago while on supervised release for prior bank robbery convictions.
JOSEPH DONELSON, JR., 68, of Chicago, committed four robberies or attempted robberies in a two-month period in 2023.
Donelson struck a bank teller in the face in one of the robberies and leapt onto the counter to take money in another one.
The robberies were as follows:
- Oct. 11, 2023: Attempted robbery of Citibank, 180 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago’s Loop neighborhood.
- Nov. 7, 2023: Robbery of Citibank, 180 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago’s Loop neighborhood.
- Dec. 8, 2023: Robbery of Citibank, 539 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood.
- Dec. 19, 2023: Attempted robbery of Citibank, 100 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago’s Loop neighborhood.
Donelson committed the robberies and attempted robberies while he was on court-supervised release following a period of imprisonment for robbing two other banks in Chicago’s Loop neighborhood in 2007.
A jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago earlier this year convicted Donelson of the four robberies and attempted robberies from 2023. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger sentenced Donelson to 76 years in federal prison.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Ryan Whalen, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Substantial assistance was provided by the Chicago Police Department.
“Defendant’s actions terrorized multiple bank employees, causing injury to one and lasting psychological trauma to another,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Minje Shin argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “His crimes demonstrated utter disrespect for the law, and a severe sentence is necessary as just punishment.”
