Suspected “Church Lady Bandit” Indicted For Multiple Robberies

Posted on 1/7/2011

Defendant: Sylvete P. Gilbert

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien announced today that the Franklin County Grand Jury has returned an indictment against Sylvete P. Gilbert, age 46, for 12 robberies over a 4 year period throughout central Ohio. “We rarely see female bank robbers”, O’Brien said. Although the investigation is ongoing, Gilbert is alleged to be the “Church Lady Bandit”, a notorious female robber who has been a suspect in robberies dating back to 2006. Gilbert has been indicted for twelve counts (F-2) Robbery and twelve counts (F-3) Robbery, for a total of twenty-four counts. The indictment alleges Gilbert robbed the following locations:

01/10/2006 Ohio Savings Bank/2700 E. Dublin Granville Road/Columbus
10/20/2008 Cooper State Bank/1616 E. Dublin Granville Road/Columbus
10/22/2008 Key Bank/1990 E. Dublin Granville Road/Columbus
10/23/2008 BMI Federal Credit Union/12 S. Cleveland Avenue/Westerville
09/03/2010 Wesbanco Bank/2700 E. Dublin Granville Road/Columbus
09/13/2010 Key Bank/1990 E. Dublin Granville Road/Columbus
10/20/2010 US Bank/1739 N. High Street/OSU
11/07/2010 Charter One Bank/5727 Emporium Square/Columbus
11/27/2010 Hampton Inn/2093 S. Hamilton Road/Columbus
12/09/2010 First Community Bank/647 N. High Street/Columbus
12/12/2010 Cooper State Bank/6950 E. Main Street/Reynoldsburg
12/23/2010 Fifth Third Bank/155 Nationwide Blvd/Columbus

O’Brien stated, ”If found guilty on all charges, Gilbert faces a maximum sentence exceeding 50 years”. O’Brien commended the FBI, Columbus, Reynoldsburg, Westerville, and OSU Police Departments for their diligence and continuing investigation of the case. Arraignment for Gilbert is set for Friday, January 7, 2011, at 1:30 pm in courtroom 1A.