A 70-year-old Mobile man who admitted to robbing a bank of more than $7,400 was scheduled for sentencing in federal court in late January 2015, months after his arrest and guilty plea in the case.
David Corley was taken into custody in August 2014 in connection with a holdup at First Community Bank on Cottage Hill Road in Mobile. He later pleaded guilty in October to a federal bank robbery charge at the federal courthouse in Mobile. U.S. District Court Judge Kristi DuBose was set to determine his sentence, with federal law allowing for a maximum punishment of up to 20 years in prison for the offense.
According to a statement of facts filed with the court, Corley entered the bank wearing a mask and carrying a fake handgun, demanding that a teller fill a bag with cash. The teller complied, placing a mix of marked and unmarked bills into a plastic bag before Corley fled the scene.
Mobile police stopped Corley a short time later as he drove near the intersection of Hillcrest Road and Girby Road. Court records state that when officers asked him why he was being pulled over, Corley told them directly that he had just robbed a bank. Officers recovered the stolen cash, the fake weapon and the mask from the vehicle. After being read his Miranda rights, Corley confessed in detail to the robbery, according to federal court records.
The case moved through the federal court system over several months, from Corley’s arrest in August through his guilty plea in October and on to sentencing proceedings in January. Bank robbery cases in the Southern District of Alabama are prosecuted federally because banks are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, giving federal authorities jurisdiction regardless of the amount taken.
Cases like Corley’s underscore how quickly local law enforcement and federal investigators can move once a robbery suspect flees a scene, particularly when a description and vehicle information are relayed to patrol officers in the area. The swift stop near Hillcrest and Girby roads, combined with recovered evidence and a voluntary confession, left little room for dispute once the case reached federal prosecutors.
Sentencing outcomes in federal bank robbery cases can vary widely based on a defendant’s criminal history, the use of a weapon (real or simulated), and whether the defendant accepts responsibility early in the process, as Corley did with his guilty plea months before sentencing.