Information from WYSH RadioÂ
Two men pleaded guilty this week to charges that they literally laundered money stolen in a Knox County bank robbery.
Danny Ray Idles, 36, of Clinton and Christopher Coward, 31, of Powell, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Anderson County Criminal Court to four counts each of money laundering and were sentenced to serve four 12-year jail sentences to run concurrently.
The men were arrested in February 2012 after investigators determined that they had used change machines at three businesses to change bills from the robbery of a Home Federal Bank in Knox County earlier in the month into more than $1,000 worth of quarters due to the fact that the bills were covered in red dye after a dye pack exploded in the bank bag during the heist.
Owners of three businesses—a Clinton car wash and an Oliver Springs car wash as well as a laundromat in Clinton—called police after finding the red-stained bills in their change machines. Surveillance video helped police identify and arrest the suspects, who were also ordered Tuesday to make restitution to the three businesses.
Coward was convicted of the bank robbery in Knox County last year.
Information in this story brought to you through an agreement between Oak Ridge Today and WYSH. See more local news headlines on the WYSH website at http://www.wyshradio.com/local_news.html.
Leave a Reply