COLUMBUS – A Columbus man was sentenced today for robbing a bank in Whitehall, pistol-whipping two of the bank’s employees while demanding money, and conspiring with his girlfriend to hide the gun he used in the robbery.

 

Robert K. Mason, 43, was sentenced to 240 months in prison.

 

According to court documents, Mason robbed the Huntington Bank at 4550 East Broad Street on Sept. 26, 2018. Mason walked in the bank, lifted his shirt to show that he had a gun, pulled the handgun and ordered customers to the floor. Mason vaulted the counter and demanded money from the tellers, hitting two of them with the gun when he became frustrated at the speed of the employees.

 

Mason ran out the front door and escaped in a car driven by his girlfriend, Bretta L. Nallen. Whitehall police arrested Mason on Oct. 31, 2018. While he was in custody, he called Nallen and told her to get rid of the gun. Nallen was charged with being an accessory to the crime and evidence tampering. She pleaded guilty to the accessory charge in August 2019.

 

Mason pleaded guilty in April 2019 to one count of bank robbery, one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence.

 

“Mason is a career criminal who has committed a number of violent offenses,” U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers said. “That’s exactly the type of offender we prioritize prosecuting in this office. Mason earned his time in federal prison.”

 

DeVillers, Joseph Deters, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, Columbus Division of Police Acting Chief Thomas Quinlan and Whitehall Police Chief Mike Crispen announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.

 

Assistant United States Attorney S. Courter Shimeall is representing the United States in this case.

 

# # #

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Robert K. Mason, 42, of Columbus, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to robbing a bank in Whitehall, pistol-whipping two of the bank’s employees while demanding money, and conspiring with his girlfriend to hide the gun he used in the robbery.

 

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Todd Wickerham, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, Columbus Division of Police Acting Chief Tom Quinlan, and Whitehall Police Chief Mike Crispen announced the plea entered today before Chief U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.

 

Mason pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery, punishable by up to 25 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence, which carries a minimum punishment of seven years and up to life in prison, and one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

 

In a statement of facts in the plea agreement, Mason admitted that he robbed the Huntington Bank at 4550 East Broad Street on September 26, 2018. Mason walked in the bank, lifted his shirt to show that he had a gun, pulled the handgun and ordered customers to the floor. Mason vaulted the counter and demanded money from the tellers, hitting two of them with the gun when he became frustrated at the speed of the employees.

 

Mason ran out the front door and escaped in a car driven by his girlfriend, Bretta L. Nallen. Whitehall police arrested Mason on October 31. While he was in custody, he called Nallen and told her to get rid of the gun. Nallen is facing charges of being an accessory to the crime and evidence tampering. 

 

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the cooperative investigation by law enforcement and assistant U.S. attorneys David DeVillers and Courter Shimeall, who are representing the United States in this case.

 

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has charged two Columbus individuals with crimes related to an armed robbery in September in Whitehall.

 

Robert K. Mason, 42, and Bretta L. Nallen, 43, both of Columbus, were charged in the indictment returned here yesterday.

 

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Todd Wickerham, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, Whitehall Police Chief Mike Crispen and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the charges.

 

According to the indictment, on September 26, 2018, Mason stole more than $12,000 from the Huntington National Bank on East Broad Street in Whitehall during an armed robbery.

 

An affidavit in this case details that, upon entering the bank, Mason brandished a handgun and ordered customers to the floor. He allegedly vaulted the counter and demanded money from bank tellers, striking two of the tellers with the gun.

 

One bank employee was struck in the back of the head and one was struck in the face.

 

From September 26 until November 2, 2018, Nallen allegedly served as an accessory to the crime by misleading authorities in order to evade Mason’s apprehension.

 

Both defendants also allegedly conspired to tamper with evidence by attempting to hide the firearm used during the robbery.

 

Specifically, Mason is charged with one count of bank robbery (up to 25 years), one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence (up to 20 years), and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence, (seven years up to life in prison).

 

Nallen is also charged with one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence, as well as one count of being an accessory after the fact, a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

 

The defendants are scheduled to appear in federal court today at 2:30pm before U.S. Magistrate Judge Chelsey M. Vascura.

 

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI and Whitehall and Columbus divisions of police, as well as Assistant United States Attorneys David M. DeVillers and S. Courter Shimeall, who are prosecuting the case.

 

An indictment merely contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #