Felon Who Robbed Local Bank of America in August 2009 Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

February 3, 2010 - LAS VEGAS—A convicted felon who robbed a Bank of America last August at gunpoint was sentenced today to just over 10 years in federal prison, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.  Jason Theus Cunningham, 32, of Las Vegas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan, to 125 months in prison and five years of supervised release. Cunningham pleaded guilty on October 23, 2009, to armed bank robbery.

On August 17, 2009, at approximately 11:18 a.m., Cunningham, wearing a surgical mask and a straw hat and carrying a blue bag, entered the Bank of America at 4945 E. Sahara, in Las Vegas. Cunningham approached a female teller and put his bag on the counter, and quietly requested a withdrawal from his saving account. When the teller leaned closer to hear him, Cunningham pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and racked the slide, and held it to her head and said, ''Give me the (expletive) money.'' The teller took money from her drawer and put it in the bag. Cunningham pointed his gun at another teller and a customer and said, ''Shut up and don't move,'' then fled the bank and drove away in a vehicle.

Cunningham led multiple Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers on a high-speed pursuit through residential neighborhoods before abandoning the car in the area of Lamb and Washington and fleeing on foot. During the foot pursuit, Cunningham discarded the loaded firearm in a residential neighborhood. Inside the vehicle, officers found a loaded 9 millimeter Ruger semi-automatic pistol, the straw hat, a surgical mask, and approximately $2,700. A short time later, Cunningham was apprehended in the area

The Court found that Cunningham’s sentence should be enhanced for using a firearm during the robbery and reckless endangerment during flight, and because Cunningham had an extensive criminal history, including prior felony convictions in Texas for armed bank robbery and Possession of a Prohibited Weapon on a college campus.

The case was investigated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amber M. Craig.