Federal grand jury indicts Jessy James, father in Henderson credit union robberies

Jeffrey James, 52, and his 22-year-old son, Jessy James, have been held on state charges since their arrests in Henderson last week.

In the first robbery, Jeffrey James is accused of pointing a replica firearm at a teller’s head and demanding money while his son placed a suitcase on the counter and told the teller, “Cooperate, and you won’t get shot.”

In the second robbery, Jessy James is accused of approaching a teller with two large envelopes. One included a demand to cooperate. The other contained a replica firearm, which prosecutors say James pointed at the teller through a hole in the paper. His father, authorities charge, waited outside and drove the getaway car.

The pair are accused of a Jan. 24 robbery at Silver State Schools Credit Union and a Feb. 16 robbery at America’s First Credit Union. Both businesses are on Eastern Avenue in Henderson. Authorities claim the pair stole $4,000 from the first credit union and $4,207 from the second.

Both men were arraigned Wednesday afternoon in federal court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen ordered their detention pending trial. A trial date was set for May 9.

At the hearing, a prosecutor described the father as a “very intelligent and cunning criminal.”

The defendants were seated next to each other in court, the father dressed in a T-shirt with his hair unkept and the son clean-shaven and wearing a button-down shirt. Jessy James’ mother, who is estranged from Jeffrey James, sat in the front row of the courtroom and murmured in disagreement when prosecutors announced some of the allegations.

The indictment charges both men with one count of bank robbery and one count of Hobbs Act robbery, which refers to a federal statute addressing crimes accomplished by violence, fear or extortion.

Contact Jenny Wilson at jenwilson@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Follow @jennydwilson on Twitter.