A bank robber from Chicago whose conviction in January was greatly aided by police work performed by the Baroda-Lake Township Police Department was sentenced today to more than 72-and-a-half years in prison by U.S. District Judge Gordon Quist in Grand Rapids.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles, Jr. announced the sentencing of 34 year old Dominick T. Johnson who was convicted by a jury in January of seven crimes — including conspiracy, bank robbery, and firearms charges — after a two-week trial.
Johnson planned and served as the get-away driver for three completed bank robberies in and around Kalamazoo: the May 29, 2014, robbery of PNC Bank in Galesburg, the July 29, 2014, robbery of Comerica Bank in Comstock Township, and the January 8, 2015, robbery of Old National Bank in Oshtemo Township.
Johnson's half-brother, Nathan Benson, previously pled guilty for his role in the robberies. In all three robberies, Benson brandished a loaded firearm and pointed it at bank employees. In two of the robberies, Benson forced the employees into the bank's vault. The conspiracy also involved three planned bank robberies that were unsuccessful; two were disrupted by law enforcement and one was thwarted by a traffic accident.
One significant piece of of evidence that led to the conviction of Johnson was the recovery of DNA evidence from a partially eaten hamburger recovered from the bank robbers' path of flight from the Old National Bank robbery. Johnson also listened to two of the robberies via cell phone calls to Benson, while Johnson's cell phone was registering with towers near the banks. Benson was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment in March.
U.S. Attorney Miles says, "The Court's sentence is an unambiguous message: violent crime will not be tolerated in Western Michigan." He adds, "The defendant placed the lives of bank employees and customers in extraordinary danger by orchestrating these robberies, and now he will face the consequences of his decisions."
Judge Quist sentenced Johnson to 72 years and 8 months in prison. The investigation was led by the FBI and the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office.
Baroda-Lake Township played a key role in cracking the cases as is detailed in the original story of Johnson's conviction which can be found by clicking this link:
