Man pleads guilty to robbing Huntington Bank

Staff report

CLEVELAND

A Youngstown man pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing the Huntington Bank along Mahoning Avenue in Austintown.

Jonathan Spikes, 40, of Benita Avenue, initially pleaded not guilty to federal bank robbery charges, but changed that plea March 12, according to federal court filings. His case had been set for a jury trial Monday.

On Dec. 5, Spikes reportedly entered the bank and slipped the Huntington teller a note that read: “This is a robbery. I have a gun.” The teller emptied the till, and Spikes fled on foot, according to police. Austintown Detective Sgt. Jordan Yacovone in December noted Spikes never showed the gun during the robbery, only implied that he had one.

He was later arrested by agents from the Mahoning County Violent Crimes Task Force.

Investigators said Spikes confessed the robbery after his arrest, telling them he “owed a lot of people money.”

Spikes will remain in the Mahoning County jail until his sentencing hearing, set for June 25 at the federal courthouse in Cleveland, records show.