A Memphis federal jury has convicted Mario Patterson, 45, for leading a violent bank robbery spree that terrorized the city and left two people shot with an assault rifle.
The conviction marks the end of a major prosecution involving eight defendants who robbed five Memphis bank branches over eight months in 2023, stealing more than $160,000.
Patterson carried firearms during each robbery and wore a bulletproof vest in one heist, according to evidence presented at trial. During an attempted robbery, he opened fire with an assault rifle, shooting two people.
“This defendant was part of a violent robbery crew whose actions put lives in grave danger and seriously injured innocent people,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
The robbery conspiracy operated from April through December 2023, with the crew even attempting to rob the same bank branch twice. In one incident, Patterson pointed a rifle at terrified bank employees while an accomplice stole thousands of dollars.
“These brazen and disturbing armed robberies of multiple Memphis banks by Patterson and his co-conspirators terrorized the community and inflicted fear and harm on multiple victims,” said U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee.
Patterson faces sentencing on April 24.
Three co-defendants received substantial prison terms late last year: Robert Haley received 17 years, Devin Hinds received 16 years and one month, and Joshua Cribbs received 12 years.
Four additional defendants—Travis Drain, Monterrio Trenell, Marquarius Trenell, and Courtney Trenell—await sentencing later this year.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Memphis Police Department’s Safe Streets Task Force. The Justice Department announced that all eight defendants have now been convicted either through guilty pleas or at trial.
