Baton Rouge man pleads guilty to spring bank robbery
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A Baton Rouge man accused of robbing a bank in May pleaded guilty on Thursday.
Jonathan Wayne Lanaute, 40, was scheduled to enter the guilty plea on July 25 but was postponed after Lanaute reportedly had a medical emergency. The hearing was rescheduled to Aug. 1.
In his guilty plea, Lanaute admitted to entering United Community Bank in Baton Rouge and said he needed to cash a check. Lanaute handed a teller a note that read “Give me all the money in the cash register before everybody die in here.”
The teller followed Lanaute’s directions and proceeded to give him $100 bills. According to the Department of Justice, Lanaute started fidgeting in his pocket as if he had a gun.
The machine dispensed a total of $20,000.
U.S. Attorney Ronald Gathe Jr. said local authorities arrived at the scene to review the video footage and saw Lanaute entering the bank wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and black baseball cap. Lanaute then fled the scene in a dark color sedan, which police identified as a reported stolen Mitsubishi Lancer.
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Officers discovered the vehicle near the United Community Bank area and confirmed the driver was the same person from surveillance, according to the DOJ.
Local authorities attempted to conduct a traffic stop but Lanaute failed to stop, leading police on a chase. The chase caused Lanaute to run a driver off the road and drive in oncoming traffic. The pursuit ended as Lanaute crashed head-on with a driver. Lanaute tried to flee by foot but was caught, officials said.
Lanaute was found with $8,207.89 on his person, according to the DOJ.
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