Man accused of being gunman in 2012 Modesto bank robbery convicted
The man accused of robbing a northeast Modesto bank in 2012, pointing a handgun at a customer’s head during the process, was convicted by a federal grand jury in Fresno on Friday. The trial lasted three days.
Lloyd George Kenney, 65, of San Jose was found guilty of armed bank robbery, using a firearm during a crime of violence and being felon in possession of a firearm, the U.S. attorney’s office reported.
On May 25, 2012, Kenney robbed the Tri Counties Bank inside the Raley’s store at Roselle and Floyd avenues, prosecutors said. He was armed with a semiautomatic handgun and was heavily disguised, wearing a hockey helmet, face mask, long black coat and gloves. After taking $2,872 from tellers at gunpoint, he fled on a bicycle into a neighborhood, where he had parked a van earlier.
Within minutes of the robbery, Modesto police said an officer saw Kenney, who was still wearing the helmet, get in the van and begin to drive away. The officer pulled over Kenney and took him into custody.
Inside the minivan, investigators found two loaded handguns, an additional loaded magazine and a police radio scanner tuned to the local frequencies.
Police also found in the van a suspicious device that appeared to be a pipe bomb. The area of Bellharbour Drive and Dermond Road was cordoned off for a few hours. The Stanislaus County sheriff’s bomb squad detonated the device, which was later determined not to be an explosive.
The prosecutors said it appeared Kenney was using many names and home addresses, and police also found photographs and satellite images of several California banks. At the time of his arrest, he was identified as a Merced resident.
Kenney was convicted of armed bank robberies in 1984 and 1985 in California and Oregon, according to the indictment. In 1974, he was convicted of felony armed robbery in California.
Kenney is set to be sentenced March 14. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 12:29 PM with the headline "Man accused of being gunman in 2012 Modesto bank robbery convicted."