WINONA – A Choctaw County man pleaded guilty Wednesday of robbing the Renasant Bank on Summit Street in Winona on September 23, 2016.
John Michael Jackson, 50, of Ackerman pleaded guilty to robbery in Carroll County Circuit Court before Judge Joseph Loper, Jr. He was represented by Kosciusko attorney Richard Carter.
Sentencing will be held on November 4.
According to Captain Dan Herod, chief investigator for the Winona Police Department, the Renasant Bank was robbed on Friday, September 23, 2016, at approximately 4:45 p.m. According to Herod, a man, later identified as Jackson, walked into the bank while talking on a cell phone. He passed a threatening note to a bank teller demanding money, and the teller complied. The teller put an undisclosed amount of money into a bag, and the robber took the bag and left the bank.
Herod said the suspect did not use a weapon during the robbery.
Jackson left the bank in a gold-colored Mazda with Louisiana tag and left the parking log via Webster Street, traveling north to Jones Street.
Using surveillance footage from the bank, Herod contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assistance. Herod said the Kosciusko Police Department assisted in identifying Jackson as suspect in the case.
Herod said he sent a photo and information of Jackson to the Grenada Police Department as well.
According to then-Grenada Chief Investigator L.C. Smith, now retired, around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 24, 2016, the Grenada Police Department received “a tip from the public” about a suspicious person who fit Jackson’s description near the intersection of Highway 8 and South Street. Smith said patrol officers contacted an investigator with the department, and Detective Kenith Sanders came to assist the officers with the call.
Smith said as Sanders turned to go behind a commercial building, he came face to face with the suspect, who was carrying an open beer.
“[Grenada] has an open container law,” Smith said. “He charged him with having an open container.”
