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Woman Sentenced to Over Six Years in Federal Prison for Back-to-Back Bank Robberies


— October 30, 2023

Hunt was released from federal prison in March 2022, after serving a 10-year sentence for heroin trafficking.


INDIANAPOLIS – Shamiya Hunt, 37, of Indianapolis, Indiana, has been sentenced to 76 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to bank robbery and attempted bank robbery while on supervised release for a previous heroin trafficking conviction.

According to court documents, on October 25, 2022, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Hunt entered a Chase Bank in Speedway, Indiana, approached the bank teller and gave her a note demanding that she put money in the bag, and if she did no one would get hurt. In response, the teller pressed her panic button alarm and walked away from her station. Hunt left the bank without receiving any money.

An hour later, Hunt entered the Regions Bank located at 86th Street in Indianapolis. Again, she approached the bank teller and gave her a note demanding that she put the money in the bag so no one will get hurt. After receiving the note, the teller gave Hunt $750 in cash.

Aftermath of a Bank of America robbery. The dye pack exploded and the stack of 20s were abandoned on the sidewalk. Image by Colin Brown, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, no changes.
Aftermath of a Bank of America robbery. The dye pack exploded and the stack of 20s were abandoned on the sidewalk. Image by Colin Brown, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, no changes.

As she left the Regions Bank, an employee saw her get into the back seat of a maroon Honda Accord with body damage and a busted taillight. FBI agents located the getaway car approximately an hour later and arrested her. During questioning, Hunt admitted to the attempted robbery of the Chase Bank and the robbery of the Regions Bank.

Hunt was released from federal prison in March 2022, after serving a 10-year sentence for heroin trafficking. She was sentenced to 30 months in prison for violating the terms of her supervised release.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers and Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office Herbert J. Stapleton, made the announcement.

“Robbing banks won’t get you some quick cash, it will get you time in federal prison,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “It is especially important to hold repeat offenders accountable, to protect the public from their ongoing refusal to abide by our laws. Thanks to the quick investigative work of the FBI, this defendant has been held accountable for her decision to rob and intimidate innocent bank employees simply doing their jobs.”

This case was investigated by the FBI. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge, Tanya Walton Pratt. Judge Pratt also ordered that Hunt be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 3 years following her release from federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy C. Fugate, who prosecuted this case.

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