Hunter
03/13/25
An Iowa City man who robbed a Cedar Rapids bank in January 2024 has been sentenced.
A criminal complaint indicates 22-year-old Andrew Derr was seen on surveillance video robbing two tellers at a Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust branch on January 3rd, 2024.
The tellers reportedly handed Derr over $16,000 in cash, which included bait money with serial numbers. Derr put the money in a grey backpack that he allegedly was carrying back in July when he opened an account at the branch. Authorities used traffic surveillance to track Derr driving from a nearby parking lot back to Iowa City, and were able to identify his vehicle using a License Plate Reader.
He was arrested in New Orleans a few weeks later.
Derr faced up to 50 years in prison on two counts of 1st degree Robbery. During sentencing Tuesday, Derr pleaded guilty to two lesser counts of second degree robbery and was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. He also must pay fines and damages totaling over $19,000.
Derr caught the attention of Iowa City authorities in December 2023 when he reportedly called 911 multiple times and asked a Johnson County Dispatcher out on a date. He was charged with Obstruction of Emergency Communications in that incident. That same month, he reportedly fell down in front of the Airliner in downtown Iowa City, then ran down the middle of Clinton Street, stopped traffic, and laid himself on the hood of a passing car. When he saw University of Iowa Police arriving, he allegedly lunged at an officer with both hands. He was charged with Public Intoxication and Assault on Persons in Certain Occupations.