Gratz bank robbers found guilty

A federal jury has convicted two men of robbing the Gratz branch of the First Farmers Bank in 2010. According to an indictment filed in U.S. district court, Bryan Randell Kelly, 24, of Worthville and Edward E. Cook of Frankfort stole approximately $12,693 from the bank at 95 Main St. in Gratz on March 27, 2010. The two were arrested April 2011 following an FBI and Kentucky State Police investigation. Both men were charged with aggravated bank robbery and using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey of the eastern district of Kentucky, the pair, who are half brothers, entered the bank wearing disguises and brandished a firearm at the bank tellers. The men had a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver and five rounds of ammunition in their possession. Kelly and Cook took the money from the tellers' drawers and forced the employees into the bank vault. Friday, Kelly and Cook were found guilty on both charges by a federal jury in Frankfort following a five-day trial. The jury deliberated for about four hours before rendering a verdict. Formal sentencing for the two men is set for Nov. 15. Both men are facing at least seven years in prison and as much as life in prison.