A suburban man who received a 15-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to being part of an armed robbery crew that robbed a Brink’s armored car courier of more than $1 million as she serviced a bank ATM has lost an appeal in which he argued, among other things, that his brain was not fully developed when he committed the crime.
A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the trial judge properly considered Corrie Singleton’s age, lack of criminal history, difficult childhood and potential for rehabilitation before imposing the below-guidelines sentence.
The panel specifically noted that U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman “weighed the trauma and gun violence Singleton ‘suffered as a young man’ against the fact that Singleton chose to put a gun to someone’s head to complete a robbery.”
Singleton was 21 on Halloween 2022 when he and two accomplices drove a stolen vehicle to a Chase Bank in Lansing, where a Brink’s courier was servicing an ATM. According to court records, Singleton pointed a loaded gun at the courier’s head while his brother disarmed her. The crew allegedly emptied more than $100,000 from the ATM before dragging the courier to the armored truck and forcing her to unlock its rear compartment. They took more than $900,000 in additional cash from the truck, then fled in the stolen vehicle, officials said.
Following pings from an AirPod in one of the cash trays, police pursued the vehicle, which crashed into another vehicle, a pole, and a highway ramp wall as Singleton attempted to merge onto the highway. The other driver suffered a serious knee injury that required surgery.
Police arrested Singleton and a juvenile accomplice after the crash and recovered $1,025,956 in cash and the firearms used in the robbery from the stolen vehicle. Singleton’s brother escaped on foot and was later indicted, according to court filings.
Singleton is one of 10 men federally charged in connection with a series of armed robberies targeting armored trucks and ATMs in the south suburbs. An indictment alleges the crew was involved in 11 robberies and one attempted robbery over the course of more than a year, but prosecutors described the Halloween hold-up as “the most blatantly dangerous and violent.”
Singleton pleaded guilty in January 2025 to Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Sentencing guidelines called for a term of 219 to 252 months, including a mandatory consecutive seven-year sentence for the firearm conviction. But prosecutors asked for a 204-month sentence while Singleton’s attorney sought eight years, citing his lack of criminal history, impoverished childhood, potential for rehabilitation, and young age.
Gettleman instead sentenced Singleton to 96 months for the robbery, followed by the mandatory 84-month sentence for the firearm conviction, for a total of 180 months, or 15 years.
On appeal, Singleton argued that Gettleman had failed to adequately consider his arguments for a shorter sentence. The 7th Circuit rejected those arguments, saying Gettleman had considered Singleton’s age, family support, educational opportunities in prison, childhood trauma and exposure to gun violence. The judge had also weighed those mitigating factors against the fact that Singleton chose to put a gun to the courier’s head during the robbery.
The appellate court said the district judge had specifically addressed Singleton’s lack of criminal history and acknowledged that he had “never done anything like this before.” The judge also referred to Singleton’s age during the sentencing hearing and recognized that the sentencing guidelines did not fully account for his mitigating circumstances.
Last Thursday, the day after the Court of Appeals issued its decision, a second man accused of being part of the robbery crew also received a 15-year sentence. Prosecutors said Perry Maple, now 23, participated in three separate robberies that netted more than $700,000, beginning when he was 19 years old.
They said Maple, Singleton, and a third man robbed an ATM technician at gunpoint outside a Bank of America in Calumet City, making off with $129,050 in January 2022.
Just over a year later, on February 24, 2023, Maple took a more direct role in a second robbery when he and Singleton’s brother allegedly drove a stolen Infiniti sedan to a Citibank in Calumet City. Maple allegedly carried a gun and removed cash cassettes from the ATM as the pair escaped with about $155,000.
Nine days later, Maple and three accomplices allegedly robbed an armored truck guard at a suburban shopping mall during St. Patrick’s Day weekend. According to prosecutors, they forced the guard into the armored vehicle and stole $379,301, with one robber allegedly pointing a gun at a bystander.
A government sentencing memorandum said Maple has no prior criminal history, grew up in a stable family, and was employed as a forklift operator at the time of his arrest.
