Kent County – A 46-year-old man from Bear was sentenced to 50 years in prison for a 2011 bank robbery in Kent County which resulted in a police pursuit and gunfire, according to state prosecutors.
Prosecutors said that Russell Grimes was convicted at trial in November of 2016. He was found guilty of Robbery First Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited and 5 counts of Reckless Endangering 2nd, said officials.
In August 2011, Grimes, and his co-defendant William Sells, conspired together to commit a bank robbery at the First National Bank of Wyoming in the 100 block of Irish Hill Road in Felton, according to authorities. Officials said that Sells, went into the bank, displayed a gun, and threatened to shoot the employees if he didn’t get money.
Grimes drove the get-away vehicle and led the police on a 16 mile high speed chase through western Kent County, officials said. While State Police chased the SUV, Sells fired a number of shots, striking multiple police cruisers, according to authorities. The SUV eventually crashed and the two suspects ran, with Grimes being shot in the ankle by a Trooper. Superior Court Judge Robert Young sentenced Grimes to the minimum mandatory sentence of 50 years.
Russell Grimes’ original conviction in this case, in May of 2013, was overturned by the appellate court. Grimes filed court documents asking to be released. In his filings Russell M. Grimes told the Delaware Supreme Court that he should be released from incarceration due to double jeopardy after his conviction was reversed. The court denied his request for release.
Grimes’ co-defendant, William Sells, also had his original conviction reversed. He later pled guilty and was sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison, followed by 2 years of probation for his role in the robbery.
Image Credits: Delaware State Police