A Chicago man has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for his role in a violent North Side bank robbery that unraveled when police followed a GPS tracker hidden inside the stolen cash.
U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama sentenced 25-year-old Troy Luckett to 135 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to bank robbery by force and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime, according to court records. The case against his alleged accomplice, 23-year-old Kendall Sullivan, is still pending.
The holdup took place around 10 a.m. on December 23, 2023, at Byline Bank, 7050 North Western Avenue. Prosecutors said Luckett and Sullivan entered the branch and split up along the teller counter. Sullivan pulled a loaded gun on a teller and demanded cash while Luckett positioned himself nearby.
A quick-thinking teller slipped a GPS tracker into one of the money stacks before handing it over.
When two customers walked into the bank mid-robbery, Luckett ordered them to lie on the floor at gunpoint, prosecutors said. As they tried to escape, Luckett allegedly chased them, grabbed one by the collar, and dragged them back inside.
Police began tracking the GPS signal within minutes and located two vehicles traveling in tandem with it. One driver attempted to impede the officers, apparently to allow the lead vehicle to escape. When the cars separated, officers apprehended Sullivan after a foot pursuit and recovered $9,433—the exact amount stolen from the bank—along with two loaded handguns from a discarded jacket, prosecutors said.
Luckett initially denied involvement and told investigators he was in the area for a Grindr hookup. But police allegedly found Luckett’s phone inside the bank, making it unlikely that he was using the dating app.
Investigators later found two firearm cases in Luckett’s vehicle bearing serial numbers that matched the guns recovered from Sullivan’s jacket.
Luckett’s sentence amounts to roughly 11 years and three months in prison, followed by supervised release. The defense sought a 10-year term, arguing that Sullivan organized the heist. Prosecutors pushed for 15 years, citing the holdup’s violence and the danger to customers and employees.
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