The killer of a Gary Indiana security officer given two consecutive life sentence
Gary IN April 15 2023 A Gary man who federal authorities allege spearheaded a 2021 bank robbery and killed the guard got two consecutive life sentences Friday.
Hailey Gist-Holden, 28, was convicted Oct. 27 of armed bank robbery, and using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during that bank robbery, according to a release.
Security officer Richard Castellana, 55, of Tinley Park, Illinois, was fatally shot at point blank range during the June 11, 2021 robbery. He retired in 2019 as a Cook County Sheriff’s Deputy after more than three decades.
Federal court records alleged Gist-Holden owned the Illini Panthers, a fledgling second-year semipro football team. Players were recruited from other states like Florida, Texas, Georgia and California.
“Coach Hailey” was short on money and couldn’t cover the rest of their hotel bill. Gist-Holden allegedly got players to help him rob a First Midwest Bank, 1975 W. Ridge Road, in unincorporated Calumet Township.
He denied this, according to court documents.
His trial lasted nine days presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Philip P. Simon.
Previously, co-defendants James A. King and Kenyon Hawkins pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery and murder resulting from the discharge of a firearm during the robbery. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12 and 14, respectively.
Briana White was also indicted in the case, but her trial isn’t scheduled until August 2023.
Police were called just after 1 p.m. June 11, 2021 to First Midwest Bank on the 1900 block of West Ridge Road in unincorporated Calumet Township, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Surveillance video showed two men in all black, who approached the bank from a wooded area southeast, according to charging documents. They shot the security guard in the face, who dropped to the ground, records state.
Arrested on foot, King, of Miami, was the first suspect charged — in Lake Superior Court — before federal prosecutors stepped in and indicted him days after the robbery.
King pleaded guilty to bank robbery and murder resulting from the discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a federal crime of violence, records show. The former charge carries a penalty up to 25 years, while the latter ranges from 10 years to life.
King admitted in a plea agreement coordinating with Gist-Holden and two others, not then named, in the robbery. One accomplice would be the getaway driver in a U-Haul that Gist-Holden rented, while the other would listen to the police scanner.
King’s plea agreement alleges Gist-Holden would “handle” Castellana, shooting him dead before King went inside to get the cash.
A handgun and $9,000 cash in a black backpack were found about 25 yards from where King was arrested, police said.
