Brooklyn man sentenced five years for 2021 ESSA Bank robbery in Middle Smithfield Township
A New York man will face five years of prison time for robbing an ESSA Bank in Middle Smithfield Township, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
According to a release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Michael Muse, age 44, of Brooklyn, N.Y., has been sentenced to five years ' imprisonment for armed bank robbery by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion on Oct. 26.
United States District Attorney Gerard M. Karam stated Muse had previously entered a guilty plea before Mannion, admitting to committing an armed robbery of the Middle Smithfield bank on Sept. 16, 2021.
Witnesses who saw a man presumed to be Muse just before the robbery said the situation appeared "shady," adding it gave them a "funny feeling." These same people parked in a lot next to the bank and watched as the man entered the building and exited after mere minutes.
During the robbery, Muse, wearing a black face covering and yellow gloves, pointed what appeared to be a firearm, which was later found to be an air pistol, at a bank teller, demanding they empty their register into his bag. Muse stole approximately $9,031 in the robbery.
Pennsylvania State Police troopers pursued Muse in a white van, eventually chasing him on foot and arresting him later that day in Middle Smithfield Township.
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Muse was indicted by the Department of Justice for armed bank robbery in Oct. 2021, and pleaded guilty to the charge in April 2022. He originally faced up to 25 years in prison, followed by a period of supervised release.
The charge stemmed from an investigation conducted by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Safe Streets Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara prosecuted the case.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: NYC man sentenced to five years for 2021 ESSA Bank robbery
