Mario Patterson, 45, of Memphis, was sentenced on May 6 to 579 months in federal prison for his involvement in a series of armed bank robberies, an attempted robbery, use of firearms during the crimes, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced Patterson’s sentence.
The sentencing follows evidence presented at a January jury trial showing that Patterson joined a conspiracy with seven other men to rob banks in and around Memphis between April and December 2023. Co-defendants Courtney Trenell, Devin Hinds, and Joshua Cribbs were found guilty by another jury in July 2025. Four others—Robert Haley, Travis Drain, Marquarius Trenell, and Monterrio Trenell—pleaded guilty earlier to similar charges.
According to court evidence: On April 27, 2023 Patterson and Drain robbed First Horizon Bank on North Watkins with an AK-style pistol; on August 11 two co-conspirators robbed Truist Bank while others acted as lookouts; on October 20 the group simultaneously robbed two banks near Germantown Parkway; on October 25 Patterson returned to attempt another robbery but exchanged gunfire with security; on November 5 he was arrested after a business burglary where police recovered a revolver; finally on December 22 he participated in robbing Independent Bank while wearing body armor. The group stole over $170,000 from five bank robberies.
Other sentences handed down include Cribbs (144 months), Haley (204 months), Hinds (194 months), Marquarius Trenell (46 months), and Drain (120 months plus an additional supervised release violation term). The case was heard before Judge Thomas L. Parker.
Dunavant said: “In less than eight months this violent robbery crew committed five armed bank robberies, terrorized the community, and inflicted fear and harm on multiple victims. Patterson’s violent crime spree is over for good. This forty-eight year sentence for a forty-five-year-old offender is well deserved and sends a clear message that there will always be a reckoning—a real and significant consequence—for the commission of violent crimes.”
Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly of the FBI Nashville Field Office said: “This sentence should serve as a reminder that repeated criminal conduct carries escalating consequences and will be met by swift justice... The FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force and our partners at the Memphis Police Department will continue to work together to target serial offenders creating fear and havoc in our community.”
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee advances community safety through federal law enforcement efforts across its district offices based in Memphis and Jackson—a region it has served since its origins in 1803—handling prosecutions of federal crimes such as these cases according to the official website.
