United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Steven Williams, age 35 of Jackson, was sentenced on Sept. 28, 2021, to 13 years and 8 months in prison followed by (5) years of supervised release for bank robbery. Williams was further ordered to pay $5,136.00 in restitution and a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee.

According to court documents, Williams used a firearm on November 21, 2016, while robbing the First NBC Bank, whose deposits were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), in Kentwood, Louisiana. He previously pleaded guilty to bank robbery by assaulting and putting in jeopardy the life of another by using a dangerous weapon in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a) and (d).

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders works together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally-based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Kentwood Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles D. Strauss.