Getaway driver in twin Memphis bank robberies gets 15-year sentence

A federal judge in Memphis sentenced Courtney Trenell, 34, of Memphis, to 15 years in prison for aiding and abetting two bank robberies and joining a conspiracy to rob six banks, the Justice Department announced. Trenell was one of eight men indicted in the case; he and three co-defendants were convicted in jury trials, while the others pleaded guilty, according to the department.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said Trenell “took part in two separate bank robberies as part of a violent robbery crew,” adding that the eight defendants’ robbery spree “threatened the lives of hardworking Americans and terrorized bank employees and customers.” U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee called Trenell “a dangerous offender” and said armed bank robberies “must be met with significant sentences such as this one.” FBI Nashville Field Office Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly said the sentence demonstrated the bureau’s commitment to working with law enforcement partners to bring bank robbers to justice.

According to trial evidence, Trenell joined a conspiracy between April and December 2023 to rob banks throughout Memphis. Prosecutors said he drove a getaway car on Oct. 20, 2023, to help co-defendants carry out and escape simultaneous robberies of Bank of Bartlett and First Horizon Bank branches located across the street from each other. The simultaneous robberies were intended to confuse and evade law enforcement, according to the department.

Following an eight-day trial in July 2025, a jury convicted Trenell on two counts of aiding and abetting bank robbery and one count of joining a conspiracy to rob banks. Co-defendants Devins Hinds, 36, and Joshua Cribbs, 33, both of Memphis, were also convicted at that trial of conspiracy and robbing specific banks. Hinds was additionally convicted of firearm offenses. In a separate trial in January 2026, a jury found co-defendant Mario Patterson, 45, of Memphis, guilty of robbing three banks as part of the same conspiracy.

Hinds and Cribbs were sentenced last year to 194 months and 144 months in prison, respectively, prosecutors said. Co-defendant Robert Haley, 45, who pleaded guilty before trial, was sentenced in December 2025 to 204 months. Three other defendants — Monterrio Trenell, Travis Drain and Patterson — await sentencing later this year.

The FBI and Memphis Police Department investigated the case. Trial Attorney Ashleigh Atasoy of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory A. Wagner and Tony Arvin prosecuted it. The case was part of the Safe Streets Task Force’s efforts and the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crime in Memphis and surrounding areas.