Memphis man sentenced for Cape bank robbery

Eric A. Mitchell, 31, of Memphis, Tenn., was sentenced on Monday to 151 months in federal prison for robbing the Bank of Missouri at 1622 N. Kingshighway Drive on May 20.

He appeared before U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry, and assistant U.S. attorney Keith D. Sorrell handled the prosecution.

On the morning of May 20, Cape Girardeau police responded to a tip that Mitchell was going to rob at a bank in Cape Girardeau, according to a news release by federal prosecutors. As officers were checking on a possible target, Mitchell entered the Bank of Missouri, wearing a black jacket and ski mask.

He jumped over the counter and took $14,711 from the tellers' drawers. Four tellers were in the bank at the time, prosecutors said. Mitchell used no weapon when he demanded that everyone get down. He drove away in a stolen maroon Oldsmobile.

Police arrested Mitchell within minutes of the robbery, tracking him down near Lynwood Baptist Church, police previously said. In a nearby wooded area, officers discovered a black jacket containing all the stolen cash.

The Oldsmobile was found in the parking lot of La Croix United Methodist Church, police said, and officers also impounded a Honda that he drove from Memphis to Cape Girardeau.