Corbin man pleads guilty to September bank robbery

Janie Slaven, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·1 min read

Jan. 18—The Corbin man accused of robbing a southern Laurel County bank on September 27 has entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court.

Shawn Martin Fox, 35, of Gooden Lane, pled guilty to the federal bank robbery count in connection to the theft from Community Trust Bank on US 25W (Cumberland Gap Parkway).

Fox was initially arrested by the Laurel County Sheriff's Office for first-degree robbery at the state level before he was indicted by a federal grand jury in November.

According to testimony from LCSO Detective Robert Reed at Fox's preliminary hearing in Laurel District Court a week after the incident, Laurel Dispatch received a 9-1-1 call at 12:50 p.m. on September 27 from a Community Trust Bank employee that there was a robbery in progress at the bank.

With video capturing the suspect's likeness and a description of the getaway car as a maroon Honda Civic, the investigation led officers to Fox's residence, where they found the Honda Civic and some discarded clothing.

Det. Reed said further investigation led them to another residence where the property owner said Fox had left in a Ford F-150 truck. The Knox County Sheriff then located Fox on Moore Hill Avenue and other agencies joined in to take him into custody.

Had Fox gone to trial, he faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. According to his plea agreement, he is expected to pay $1,965 in restitution to Community Trust Bank in addition to the sentence he will receive.

Formal sentencing had not been scheduled at press time.