Three Detroit men charged with a June robbery of Case Credit Union in Delta Township pled guilty to the crime.
The Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney Douglas R. Lloyd announced Friday that the men pled guilty on Tuesday, and the defendants will be formally sentenced on Dec. 8.
According to the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office, Chrishon Marquan Milton, 18, Patrick Jewell Patterson, 23, and Fred Martell Lewis, 18, each pled guilty to two count of bank robbery and one count of conspiring to commit bank robbery.
According to a release, Milton will serve a minimum of 44 months in prison, Lewis will serve a minimum of 45 months in prison, and Patterson will serve a minimum of 60 months in prison. The plea terms have set the minimum period before the defendants will be eligible for parole. Judge Cunningham will also set the maximum time each defendant can serve in prison.
The sheriff’s office says a note was passed by the defendants to a CCU teller demanding $40,000 or “I’ll kill you.” The robbers, however, only received about $500 before fleeing.
The defendants were caught soon after the robber due to the alert actions of the manager of the Heavenly Ham store adjacent to the bank. The office says the manager saw the defendants leave the credit union and employees huddled inside.
The manager took a photo of the car and its license plate, which was quickly forwarded to the sheriff’s office, the release says. The vehicle was located on I-96 in Ingham County and it was followed.
The car eventually sped up, the sheriff’s office says, and crashed at the northbound US-127 ramp. The defendants ran into a wooded area, and multiple area police departments responded to search for the suspects.
After several hours, the defendants were located and arrested.
“We take the safety and security of the people and businesses in Eaton County seriously,” said Lloyd. “These three men came to Delta Township specifically to rob one of our financial
institutions and frighten fine citizens inside the Credit Union. They also disrupted the lives of thousands of travelers for several hours near US?127 & I?96.
“Thanks to the quick thinking and observations of citizens, the bank's internal security, and the collaborative effort of several tri?county law enforcement agencies, these men were quickly apprehended. Because of those efforts, these three men are being held accountable for their actions. It is and should remain unacceptable to target Eaton County and its citizens as victims of crime.”
