The Michigan man accused of robbing a Lewis Center bank last year will stand trial July 17 in U.S. District Court.
Todd Raymond Keith, 41, of Ypsilanti, Michigan was indicted in U.S. District Court on Nov. 1, 2016 and charged with bank robbery, carjacking and two counts of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
According to federal prosecutors, Keith was responsible for the robbery of the Delaware County Bank branch in Lewis Center on Oct. 7, 2016, along with a series of bank robberies in Michigan and Ohio.
Keith was arrested on Oct. 8 in Aberdeen, Ohio and originally charged in Ohio Southern District Court, but the case was transferred to the Eastern District of Michigan because Keith’s crime spree originated in Michigan.
Keith pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment on Nov. 14 and was originally scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 3 2017.
However, the trial was delayed to April 4 after a continuance was filed.
The trial was delayed again and rescheduled to July 17 after both parties said they would need more time to review the discovery in the case.
According to the criminal complaint filed by the FBI, Keith’s crime spree began on Sept. 30 in Van Buren Township, Michigan. According to the document, a home in the township was burglarized around 10 a.m. on that date and several items were stolen including two shotguns, one of which was equipped with a scope. Later that day, an man brandishing a shotgun with a scope entered a Chase Bank in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, and announced he was robbing the bank.
The FBI reports that he fired two shots in the bank and hit the wall behind a teller window and an office window. He demanded money from the teller and was given $1,700 by the employee before leaving the bank and driving away in a dark colored sedan.
Then on Oct. 3, a man wearing a Halloween mask entered the Key Bank in Augusta Township, Michigan with a shotgun and announced he was robbing the bank. He threatened to kill employees if they resisted. The teller then removed the tracker from the money and the man left the bank with approximately $8,000 in cash. The suspect then drove away in a silver Dodge Journey.
On Oct. 7, deputies from the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office reported that he entered the DCB office located at 34 Evergreen Lane in Lewis Center, fired several shots and demanded money from the teller. No one was injured and Keith fled the scene in a dark sedan.
Keith is also a suspect in a pair of hotel robberies on Oct. 6 in Livonia, Michigan as well as an armed robbery in Tiffin on Oct. 7. Court documents state the indictment only covers the robbery committed on Oct. 3 and an armed carjacking on Oct. 6.
Keith is in federal detention awaiting his trial.
