SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 24, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — An alleged bank robber who police say stopped for a bite to eat while casually fleeing the crime scene made his first appearance in federal court Thursday.
Michael Grant Robinson, 36, of West Jordan is charged with robbing a Wells Fargo Bank in West Jordan. Charging documents say he was arrested three blocks from the bank outside a restaurant, where he used the proceeds to buy lunch shortly after the 1 p.m. robbery.
According to allegations in court documents and surveillance video, on Jan. 12, Robinson — described as having a distinctive face tattoo — entered a bank in West Jordan and handed a teller a threatening note, the U.S. attorney’s office for Utah said in a Thursday news release. The note read: “I gotta weapon need $1000.”
“He also opened his jacket that showed the handle of a knife, but at the time the teller believed it was a firearm,” according to a probable cause affidavit filed by West Jordan police before the case was transferred to the FBI and federal court. Bank robbery is a federal crime.
The teller gave Robinson $140 in cash, all $20 bills, telling him it was all she had. Because of the distinctive tattoo — which police said covered his face, neck and head — he was easily identified from bank surveillance video and by victims and witnesses, according to the affidavit.
At the restaurant, Robinson ordered a meal for $19.53, the affidavit says, and left a $120 tip.
He was taken into custody while walking on a sidewalk near the restaurant and transported to the West Jordan Police Department, where he was read his Miranda rights, which he invoked. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail, where a state judge ordered him held without bail.
