MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 20-year-old Bemidji man pleaded guilty Thursday to helping another man – who was dressed in a white containment suit, a “Halloween” movie mask and Air Jordan shoes – rob a bank with a shotgun last December.
Travis Michael Burns pleaded guilty in federal court, the Justice Department said, to one count of aiding and abetting in connection to the Dec. 10, 2012, robbery of the First State Bank of Bigfork in Kelliher, Minn. He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
In a plea agreement, Burns admitted to driving another 20-year-old man, Cody Lowell Troy of Mizpah, to the bank in a red pickup so that he could rob it. Burns also said he waited in the pickup while Troy robbed the bank with his “Halloween” mask get-up and a shotgun. Burns also said he drove away with Troy after he ran out of the bank with a backpack full of cash.
The amount stolen was more than $3,500. During the robbery, Troy pointed his shotgun in the direction of the teller, the department said.
Both Burns and Troy were indicted in January. Authorities took the two into custody after arresting Troy when he failed to appear in court for an outstanding warrant. It was when they arrested Troy that authorities saw the red pickup used in the robbery. The execution of a search warrant then revealed the Troy had in his possession a sawed-off shotgun, the “Halloween” mask and a backpack with money in it.
Troy pleaded guilty earlier in the week to one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Sentences for both Troy and Burns have yet to be scheduled.
