Verona bank robbery suspects have trial dates set
Feb. 14-OXFORD — Shannon, accused of robbing a Verona branch bank in late December, will have his day in a federal courtroom next month.
Antonia d. Cannon, 57, of Clarke Street, Shannon, pleaded not guilty to armed bank robbery. His jury trial is set for March 6 at the federal courthouse in Oxford.
Cannon is accused of robbing a Renaissance Bank branch in Verona on December 30, 2022. He was captured in Tupelo about an hour later and has been in custody ever since A federal grand jury indicted him Jan. 18 for armed bank robbery. A week later, Cannon waived his arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty.
US District Judge Glenn Davidson is scheduled to hear the case in a large courtroom at 9:30 a.m. on March 6. Any plea agreement must be submitted by February 21.
If convicted, Cannon faces up to 25 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, as well as five years of supervised release, commonly called probation.
According to a criminal complaint filed by FBI Special Agent Dustin Blunt, Cannon entered the Renaissance Bank branch at 4:41 p.m. on Dec. 30, approached the teller with a black handgun and demanded money.
After the teller gave him $4,700 in cash, he got out and drove off in a red Cadillac. Verona police responded quickly and alerted area law enforcement of the suspect vehicle’s description and tag number. Around 5 p.m., a Natchez Trace Parkway ranger spotted the vehicle driving north toward Tupelo.
Rangers, assisted by the Tupelo Police Department, stopped Cannon in a West Tupelo neighborhood and took him into custody. Officers recovered $4,700 from inside the vehicle. A cell phone cannon was recovered.
On the way to jail, Cannon claims the gun used during the robbery was an airsoft gun. Police said he then claimed he threw it out the window when he noticed the ranger turning to follow him.
Verona PD handled the initial investigation but turned it over to federal agents on Jan. 3.
Canon has previously used toy guns for bank robberies. He spent more than four years in a federal prison for a pair of Mississippi Delta bank robberies nearly 25 years ago.
In July 1998, Cannon entered Valley Bank in Clarksdale and robbed two tellers of $3,300. Less than two months later, Cannon entered a Trustmark National Bank branch in Leland and robbed two tellers of $3,788. In both cases, Cannon was carrying a replica BB gun that looked like a real semi-automatic pistol.
He initially pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea. In July 1999, he was sentenced to 70 months in prison on each bank robbery charge, to be served concurrently, as well as five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $7,088.
He served approximately 52 months in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and was released in late November 2003. Supervision ended in September 2008.
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