Bank Robber Pleads Guilty in Tyler

TYLER – A Dallas woman has pleaded guilty in Tyler federal court to bank robbery and car jacking charges. Chanel Collins, 27, was one of two persons arrested in March of last year in connection with the robbery of the First National Bank in Big Sandy. She is facing a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison plus a fine of $250,000.00. A sentencing hearing for Collins will be held at a later date.

Federal prosecutors say Collins waited at a car wash as Laquaylan Patterson drove a carjacked vehicle to the bank. With a pistol, Patterson entered the bank, climbed behind the teller’s counter, and demanded money. The tellers stood aside as Patterson removed all the bills from two cash drawers and put the money in a bag. He then fled the bank in the carjacked vehicle to the car wash where Collins was waiting. He and Collins fled in her vehicle. They were later arrested by Big Sandy Police.

The carjacked vehicle was later recovered at the Pinnacle at North Chase Apartments on North Broadway. At the time of the robbery, Collins was a student at Jarvis Christian College and Greer was a resident of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Collins and Patterson were indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in Tyler last June.