United States v. Robert Thomas Burke

Robert Burke appeals from his conviction of two bank robberies, proscribed by 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a), (d) (bank robbery; use of a dangerous weapon). Following trial by jury, the appellant was sentenced to two 20-year concurrent prison sentences.

A robber, wearing a stocking mask and armed with a revolver, robbed two banks on June 26, 1973, and July 16, 1973, respectively. During the first hold up the robber made his getaway in a stolen 1972 Plymouth Barracuda. This car was subsequently found nine blocks from the scene of the robbery. A search of the vehicle yielded green rubber gloves and a white towel with the designation “Steiner American Corporation.” In the second robbery the getaway car was a 1967 Mustang reported stolen from Hessell Chevrolet on the date of the robbery. Mr. Jody Lilly, a salesman for Hessell Chevrolet, testified that the appellant was present on the car lot at noon of the previous day and that the keys to the Mustang were discovered missing at the end of the day. The appellant was arrested on August 28, 1973, while leaving his home in a 1973 Chevrolet van. The appellant’s brother, the record owner of the van, gave the FBI permission to search the van…