CEDAR RAPIDS – Four small town Iowans are in jail, charged with robbing a bank last month.
Shiloh Palmer, 22; Andrew Palmer, 24; Elizabeth Olinger, 26; and Peter Olinger, 42; all from Mechanicsville, Iowa, each have been charged with four counts of bank robbery and related offenses. The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed today in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, on or about April 6, 2015, defendants robbed, and/or aided and abetted the robbery of, the Exchange State Bank of Martelle, Iowa. The Indictment alleges defendants either personally, or aided and abetted, the theft of over $30,000 from an employee of the bank through force, violence, and intimidation; used, carried and brandished two shotguns in furtherance of the bank robbery, or aided and abetted the same; and used fire to commit a federal felony offense, or aided and abetted the same.
If convicted on all charges, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 17 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $1 million fine, $400 in special assessments, and 16 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
All four individuals appeared yesterday in federal court in Cedar Rapids and were held without bond. Their next appearance will be a detention hearing set for May 20, 2015, at 9 AM.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and was investigated by the FBI, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa DCI, the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Lisbon Police Department, the Mt. Vernon Police Department, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, the Mechanicsville Police Department, and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
