Man pleads guilty to robbing downtown Tupelo bank
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Jul. 26—OXFORD — A Lee County man has pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing a bank in downtown Tupelo.
Jasper Michael Wagner, 56, of Tupelo, entered the plea on Tuesday, July 26, before U.S. District Court Judge Sharion Aycock, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for Nov. 1. Wagner faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Wagner entered the Community Bank on West Main Street on April 6 around lunchtime and handed the clerk a note telling her to give him $5,000. He walked out of the bank with approximately that amount of money in a bank bag. When he was apprehended in a Leeds, Alabama, hotel room about four hours later, he still had the bank bag and most of the money.
The Tupelo Police and FBI investigated the case with significant assistance from the Leeds, Alabama Police Department.
"The FBI will continue to collaborate with our state and local partners to ensure dangerous, repeat offenders, such as Mr. Wagner, are brought to justice," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby. "We are steadfast in our commitment to reduce violent crime and the negative impact it has upon our communities."
Since 2002, Wagner has pleaded guilty in federal court to nine bank robberies in seven states, from New Mexico to the Carolinas, including two in Mississippi. Wagner's life of crime has followed a distinct pattern: He robs several banks, gets caught, serves about 10 years in prison, gets out and starts robbing banks again.
He did that in 2000-2001, repeated it in late 2010 and did it again this year. In a press release following Wagner's arrest, Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin said Wagner is a suspect in other robberies in both Mississippi and Alabama.
The first documented string of Wagner's bank robberies began in late 2000 and included banks in New Mexico, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and two in South Carolina. He pleaded guilty to robbing seven banks. Following his release in early 2010, Wagner stole a car in December 2010 and robbed banks in Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.
