United States v. Gordon

A jury found Tremain R. Gordon guilty of one count of bank robbery. See 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). He argues on appeal that his conviction should be overturned because the government failed to prove, as an element of the offense, that the money was taken from the bank by intimidation. We affirm.

The facts are drawn from testimony at Gordon’s trial. His girlfriend, Emily Jones, worked as a teller at the Blackhawk Bank in Roscoe, Illinois, and by August 2008, she had embezzled $17,500 from her teller drawer. To conceal the embezzlement, the couple decided that month to rob the bank — specifically,…