Shovel-wielding Lone Oak bank robber sentenced 

A Metropolis man convicted of robbing a bank in Lone Oak with a shovel was sentenced in federal court.

According to the court, 67-year-old Reginald R. Thomas of Metropolis was sentenced to 8 years and four months in federal prison plus 3 years of supervised release for the May 2021 robbery of the FNB Bank branch in Lone Oak. The federal system does not allow for the possibility of parole. 

Thomas is said to have entered the bank wearing gloves and a mask while wielding a shovel and demanding cash. Thomas reportedly fled to Metropolis with $11,650. He was arrested by Metropolis Police with help from the McCracken County Sheriff's Office and the Paducah FBI office.

U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett, McCracken County Sheriff Ryan Norman, and Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI office in Louisville made the sentencing announcement on Wednesday.