Verona bank robbery suspect waives hearing
Jan. 10—TUPELO — The Lee County man accused of robbing a Verona branch bank in late December will remain in federal custody at least until a grand jury meets and hears his case.
Antonia D. Cannon, 57, of Clarke Street, Shannon, was charged with bank robbery and bank robbery with a firearm in U.S. District Court for the Dec. 30, 2022 armed robbery of the Renasant Bank branch on Raymond Avenue.
He was scheduled to have a preliminary examination and detention hearing Tuesday before Magistrate Judge Leroy Percy at the federal courthouse in Oxford. Late Monday afternoon, Cannon waived his right to both hearings.
With the waiver, Cannon will remain in custody until he is indicted, at which time the question of detention and bond could be brought up during the arraignment process.
According to the criminal complaint and the affidavit of FBI special agent Dustin Blount, Cannon entered the Renasant Bank branch on Raymond Avenue Dec. 30 at 4:41 p.m. wearing a hoodie, a baseball cap and a COVID mask. Brandishing a black firearm, which he later claimed was a toy, he walked up to the teller brandishing and demanded money. After the teller handed him $4,700 in cash, Cannon drove away in a red Cadillac.
Natchez Trace Parkway rangers and Tupelo police stopped Cannon in a west Tupelo neighborhood and took him into custody less than an hour later.
Verona police handled the initial investigation but turned it over to federal agents on Jan. 3.
In the summer of 1998, Cannon robbed two banks in the Mississippi Delta. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison. He served about 52 months in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and was released in late November 2003.
