Florida man jailed for bank robbery in North Texas

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) — Federal prosecutors announced Thursday that a Florida man implicated in at least five bank robberies and attempted bank robberies in North Texas has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison.

Thomas Joseph Banno, 54, pleaded guilty to bank robbery in August 2022. On January 19, 2023, Judge Brantley Starr sentenced him to 140 months in federal prison.

According to court documents, Banno admitted to participating in at least five bank robberies and attempted bank robberies in North Texas between June and August 2021. At the time, he was on probation for bank robbery in Florida.

During each robbery, Banno would put on a mask and enter the bank, demanding “all $50 and $100” from the teller, prosecutors said. On at least one occasion, he gestured that he had a pistol hidden under his shirt. On another occasion he told the cashier that he had a gun, and on two other occasions he actually showed the cashier what turned out to be a gun.

Banno then fled the scene in a car driven by his co-defendant, Sade Miranda Salters, 36. She also pleaded guilty to bank robbery and to charges of aiding and abetting.

In their statements, Banno and Salters admitted that they had traveled to Texas from Florida with the intention of committing a robbery. After the two robberies, Salters posted a video on Facebook Live showing her showing off a stack of cash. Banno could be seen sleeping in the back seat.

Salters is awaiting sentencing.