Singer men sentenced for DeQuincy bank robbery
Two men from Singer were sentenced this week for robbing a DeQuincy bank of just under $16,000 last year, according to authorities.
U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph said Gordon Scott Cooper, 56, was sentenced on Monday to serve 84 months, or seven years, in prison for his role in the December 2017 robbery.
Cooper’s nephew, 39 year-old Chad Allen Cooper, was sentenced to 48 months, or four years, for his role in the heist.
Both men also received five years of supervised release and were ordered to pay $15,899 in restitution.
According to guilty pleas entered by the men in July 2018, Gordon Cooper admitted to entering the bank with an air-powered BB gun that looked like an automatic pistol and stealing $15,999 from two teller drawers.
According to Joseph, after the robbery police learned that a maroon Honda Pilot had been seen in the area prior to the robbery and that the driver had been seen acting suspiciously. Police were able to locate Chad Cooper and found BBs and a CO2 cartridge for the air pistol used in the robbery.
Chad Cooper admitted to assisting in the robbery and directed officers on how to locate his uncle. At Gordon Cooper’s residence, police located the Honda Pilot, a plastic bag containing money and a pair of tennis shoes that Gordon Cooper identified as the ones worn in the robbery.
The men had been arrested within days of the robbery. According to reports, Chad Cooper was taken into custody by authorities without incident, while Gordon Cooper was arrested following a stand-off with authorities in Westlake.