By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A 67-year-old Iowa man has pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing a Princeton bank at gunpoint in May of last year.
Federal prosecutors report Phillip Michael Blink pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to one count of armed bank robbery and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Blink admitted he walked into First Interstate Bank in Princeton the morning of May 19th, 2023 wearing a cowboy hat, a red bandana over his face, gloves, and a trench coat, speaking to the teller in a low voice, stating, “I’m sorry, but this is going to be a bad morning.”
Blink set a Ruger 9mm semi-automatic handgun on the counter, pointing it at the teller.
Blink took $4,115 and fled in a pickup, northbound on Highway 65. Later that day, a Knoxville, Iowa, police officer pulled Blink over and arrested him. Blink confessed to robbing the bank. Officers found the handgun and clothing used in the rubbering in the truck.
Blink faces the possibility of 25 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
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