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SALT LAKE CITY — A convicted Utah bank robber is accused of being up to his old tricks once more.
Thomas Allen Riessen, 40, was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on 13 charges, consisting of two counts of bank robbery, six counts of interference with commerce by robbery, and five counts of credit union robbery, according to charging documents filed in Utah's federal court.
State court records show that Riessen has previously been accused of bank robberies in Utah, though, state charges were later dismissed, so Riessen could be charged at the federal level.
Riessen was arrested in July 2017 and federally charged in August 2017 on numerous robbery counts. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to four counts relating to robbery and was sentenced to 46 months in prison and supervised release for three years. Federal prison records indicate he was released from prison in April 2021.
In the new indictment, a grand jury believed Riessen was involved in multiple robberies in Salt Lake and Utah counties between Jan. 13 and Feb. 27. The indictment accuses him of robbing two banks:
- Wells Fargo, 995 E. Fort Union Blvd., in Midvale on Jan. 13
- Zions Bank, 701 E. 400 South, in Salt Lake City on Feb. 4
Riessen is also accused of robbing multiple credit unions, including:
- Cyprus Credit Union, 3578 W. 4700 South, in West Valley City on Jan. 18
- Security Services Federal Credit Union, 2655 W. 4700 South, in Taylorsville on Jan. 31
- Mountain America Credit Union, 6761 S. Redwood Road, in West Jordan on Feb. 4
- Mountain America Credit Union, 1289 E. Murray Holladay Road, in Millcreek on Feb. 9
- Mountain America Credit Union, 2070 E. 2100 South, Salt Lake City on Feb. 24
The six counts of interference with commerce by robbery are connected to allegedly taking money from:
- A Smith's grocery store in West Valley City on Jan. 16
- A Holiday Oil convenience store in Lehi on Jan. 16
- A Walgreens pharmacy in Taylorsville on Feb. 7
- A Smith's grocery store in Midvale on Feb. 10
- A Target store in Taylorsville on Feb. 25
- A Smith's grocery store in Herriman on Feb. 27
Police in Taylorsville arrested Riessen on March 2, according to a Facebook post from the police department. Police noted at the time that Riessen was a suspect in the three Taylorsville robberies, which are reflected in the Wednesday indictment. The post also notes that Riessen was allegedly tied to several robberies in Salt Lake and Utah counties, including six bank robberies.
Federal court records indicate Riessen is being held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with his 2017 case, as his recent arrest constituted a violation of his supervised release. It was not clear from court records where he was being detained.
As of Thursday, Riessen did not have future court dates scheduled in either case.
