Cameron Arthur Thomas, 31, of Florissant has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for robbing banks in Jefferson and St. Louis counties, shooting at Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies and forcing his way into a woman’s High Ridge apartment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry sentenced Thomas on Nov. 9. Perry also ordered Thomas to repay $19,262 to the banks, according to court documents.
Thomas pleaded guilty in August to two counts of armed bank robbery, bank robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, court records show.
Assistant U.S. attorney Donald Boyce, who handled the case, said Thomas’ robberies escalated in both seriousness and violence.
The bank robbery spree began on Oct. 24, 2020, when Thomas entered the First Community State Bank, 4555 Old Hwy. 21, in Imperial dressed in women’s clothing and put a note on the counter that said, “Put money in the bag.” He gave the bank teller a brown paper bag to put the money in and left with $4,750, according to his plea agreement.
On Oct. 27, 2020, Thomas went to Electro Savings Credit Union, 12400 Tesson Ferry Road, in south St. Louis County wearing women’s clothing and pointed a gun at a teller. He told the teller, “Give me all your money,” and put the money in a purse, stealing $14,312 from the bank, the report said.
Thomas returned to the Imperial First Community State Bank on Oct. 28, 2020, wearing a red coat, black pants and a surgical mask. He pointed a pistol at an employee and said, “This is a robbery; put your hands up,” according to the report.
He stole $4,620 from the bank, the report said.
A Jefferson County deputy was near the bank when an employee reported the robbery. He saw Thomas fleeing from the bank in a gray Mercedes with an Illinois license plate, according to the report.
The deputy chased the Mercedes into St. Louis County and then High Ridge, where the car Thomas was driving was disabled by a pair of spike strips on westbound Hwy. 30. Thomas ran from the car to the nearby Walden Pond Apartment complex, according to the probable-cause statement in the case.
Thomas fired at least one shot at the deputies who were chasing him before he forced his way into a woman’s apartment at gunpoint. He told the woman to answer the door when deputies knocked on it, and the deputies pulled her out of the apartment after she indicated something was wrong, the report said.
The deputies entered the apartment, and they found Thomas inside. He had changed into woman’s clothes and hid a .9-milimeter Jiminez Arms pistol in the apartment, according to the report.
Deputies found the clothes Thomas was seen wearing in surveillance video from the bank robbery. Deputies also recovered the money stolen from the bank, including the money with pre-recorded serial numbers, the report said.
Thomas also admitted that on Oct. 22, 2020, he was in possession of an AK-47-style assault rifle. Police found the rifle in Thomas’ vehicle after a traffic crash. Thomas is a convicted felon and is barred from possessing firearms, according to the guilty plea.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and FBI investigated the case.