Former Okla. firefighter sentenced to prison for bank robberies
Capt. Jerry Ray Brown retired from the Tulsa Fire Department after news of his arrest came to light; he later tried to fake his own kidnapping
By Leila Merrill
FireRescue1
TULSA, Okla. — A former Tulsa firefighter who admitted to robbing two banks of more than $300,000 and attempted to fake his own kidnapping received a prison sentence Wednesday, Tulsa World reported.
Jerry Ray Brown, 44, was ordered to serve four years and three months in prison, then three years of supervised release. A judge also ordered that he pay more than $260,000 in restitution, which represents the stolen bank funds not yet recovered.
Brown pleaded guilty in March to robbing two banks in 2020 and was charged in federal court on Oct. 27, 2020. He was released while waiting for other proceedings in the case.
After news of his arrest broke, Brown retired from the Tulsa Fire Department as a captain.
On, Oct. 25, 2021, authorities received a report that Brown might have been kidnapped from his home, Tulsa World reported. He was arrested in Kansas on a charge of theft of gasoline and taken into custody, having allegedly faked his own kidnapping.
