For an armed bank robbery, a 55-year-old Chicago man has been sentenced to 15 years in the Bureau of Prisons, to be served consecutive to a U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois sentence, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, according to a news release.
At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that, on the morning of May 1, 2023, Eric Boyd entered a Chase Bank in Moline. He was wearing a mask and carrying a duffel bag. Boyd brandished an apparent gun, indicated he had a bomb, and ordered employees and customers to “get on the ground,” then placed the duffel bag on the counter and directed bank employees to fill the bag with currency.
Also at the hearing, U.S. District Court Judge James E. Shadid found that, in January of 2021, Boyd was released early from a previous prison sentence for multiple armed bank robberies, and that at the time of this offense he was on supervised release from the Bureau of Prisons. Judge Shadid also noted that Boyd’s extensive criminal history indicated he was a risk to re-offend, that prior prison sentences had not deterred Boyd from engaging in new crimes, and that a lengthy sentence was necessary to protect the community from further harm.
Boyd was arrested on May 5, 2023, and has remained in the custody of the United States Marshals Service since his arrest. Boyd pleaded guilty on Sept. 19, 2023.
The statutory penalties for armed bank robbery are up to 25 years in prison.
Moline Police Department investigated the case with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office. Supervisory Assistant U.S Attorney John Mehochko represented the government in the prosecution.
The case against Boyd is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
‘Outstanding police work’
Boyd was located at his residence in Chicago by the FBI – Springfield Division Quad Cities Safe Streets Task Force and Moline Police detectives. Moline Police and the FBI served a federal search warrant and federal arrest warrant in Chicago.
“This was just outstanding police work by Detective Mike Griffin, Detective Jeremy McAuliffe, Detective Sean Hoover, Detective Cesar Lopez and Lt. Andrew Raya. While I cannot go into the details of the investigation, I can say it was great work by this skilled investigative team that resulted in a quick arrest of a suspect in this case,” said Chief Darren Gault. “We would also like to thank our partners with the FBI for their assistance on this case. Moline has had a long partnership with the FBI and we work very closely with the local agents.”
“The Moline Police Department has federally deputized task force officers working on the FBI Quad Cities Safe Streets Task Force, which makes the partnership very efficient and effective for our community.”
The Moline Police Department was assisted in this investigation by FBI Springfield, Quad Cities Safe Streets Task Force, FBI Chicago Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force, Milan Police Department, Ottawa Police Department and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois.
