WYOMING, Mich. — A Kent County judge sentenced a serial bank robber to prison Wednesday morning.
Judge Christina Elmore ordered 67-year-old John Tipton to serve 12 to 30 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections for robbing a Fifth Third Bank in Wyoming in March 2024.
Tipton's counsel told the judge he is dealing with dementia and asked for mercy. He was given jail credit and was also ordered to pay fees and court costs.
According to court documents, Tipton held up the Fifth Third Bank on Michael Avenue SW in virtually the same way in 2022.
He told the woman behind the counter he had a gun, and she feared for her life.
Authorities arrested and charged him in that 2022 case.
Then on Friday, March 22, 2024, investigators said he walked into that same Wyoming bank and robbed it.
Investigators said in this new case, Tipton walked into the Fifth Third Bank and told the teller he had a gun, threatening to shoot her if she didn't give him the money.
He got cash and then took off.
Law enforcement was able to track him down and arrested him on 28th Street SW, between Buchanan Avenue SW and S Division Avenue.
