Husband and wife bank robbers sentenced to federal prison

A Pocahontas couple were sentenced Wednesday to  federal prison for bank robbery and related charges.

Jeffrey, 48, and Roxena, 40, Schoon, formerly of Wall Lake, pleaded guilty in December in the U.S. District Southern Court for robbing four banks in 2011 and 2012.

Jeffrey Schoon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank robberies, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and four count of bank robbery. He was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

Roxena Schoon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank robberies. She was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

According to the plea agreement and sentencing hearings, the Schoons robbed four banks within 20 miles of their Wall Lake home. On Dec. 29, 2011, they robbed the Iowa State Bank in Odebolt; on Jan. 11, 2012, they robbed the Citizens 1st National Bank in Early; Jan. 28, 2012, they robbed the Westside State Bank in Vail; and on March 23, 2012, they robbed the Heritage Bank in Lytton.

Jeffrey Schoon entered each bank, while Roxena waited outside as the getaway driver, according to court records. The couple also possessed a .38 revolver and ammunition for the firearm and during the conspiracy the couple appeared to possess a Molotov cocktail during the Vail robbery, and a second handgun during the Odebolt robbery. These weapons were never recovered. 

According to a search warrant conducted at the couple's home on March 29, 2012, officers recovered a blue bag, gloves, a hoodie, masks, sunglasses, and blue jeans consistent with those used in the robberies, a $20.00 bill from one of the victim banks, a .22 caliber rifle, a .38 revolver and ammunition for the firearms.

The Schoons were also ordered to pay $32,825 in restitution.