49-Year-Old Man Arraigned on Bank Robbery Charges

DETROIT– A  49-year-old man and convicted felon was arraigned today in federal court in Detroit on charges stemming from a bank robbery in Ypsilanti, Michigan, announced Acting United States Attorney Saima Mohsin.

Mohsin was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Timothy Waters, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division and Matthew E. Harshberger, Director of Public Safety, Pittsfield Township Police Department.

Arraigned was Ken Kenyatta Wilson, formerly of Cleveland, Ohio.

According to court records, on March 23, 2021, at approximately 1:22 p.m., Wilson, wearing a gray coat and black pants and carrying a white bag, entered a Chase Bank branch, located at 4101 E. Ellsworth Road in Ypsilanti, Michigan, approached a victim teller, informed her this was a robbery, and demanded that she give him all the money she had.  The teller, fearing for her safety, handed Wilson $1,000 in currency.  Wilson then fled the bank and entered a red vehicle. Wilson, upon seeing a Pittsfield Township police vehicle, fled the area at a high rate of speed.  A vehicle pursuit followed at speeds approaching 100 mph. The chase eventually came to an end with Wilson crashing into a median on US-23 North, causing him to be ejected from the vehicle.  Wilson was taken into custody by Pittsfield Township Police Department officers and transported to a local hospital for injuries sustained in the crash. From the crash scene and vehicle, officers recovered a black semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine, a silver revolver, a rifle, multiple loaded magazines, and a bag containing $1,000, consistent with the reported loss from Chase Bank, among other items.

If convicted, Wilson faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for bank robbery, a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison for carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm pursuant to the Armed Career Criminal Act.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case is being investigated by special agents of the FBI along with the assistance of the Pittsfield Township Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Currie is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.