(CASSOPOLIS) – A South Bend man has been found guilty of trying to robe a bank in Southern Michigan.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz says a Circuit Court jury found 70 year old Dennis Love guilty of his ninth attempted bank robbery since 2013. The jury started their deliberations at 11:01 AM, and returned with a unanimous verdict 45 minutes later.

Fitz says Love had been previously convicted in several Midwest State and Federal jurisdictions of bank robbery, brandishing a firearm during a robbery and attempted bank robbery.

The latest bank heist took place at the Fifth Third Bank in Cassopolis on February 27, 2023.

Fitz says testimony from Love’s wife showed that on February 27, 2023, he left his South Bend home and drove to Cassopolis in the early afternoon. He then spent several hours casing the bank. Around 4 PM, a man was recorded on video entering the Fifth Third Bank wearing a black motorcycle helmet and a brown t-shirt. The suspect went to a teller and demanded money and then left the bank and drove off in a van.

Cassopolis Police found a surveillance video the established Love’s presence in Cassopolis shortly before the robbery. Two days later, the FBI confronted Love outside his house. They searched his van and found the helmet, the t-shirt and over $1,200 of the over $1,500 stolen.

Love had his bond revoked. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10 and could face up to life in prison.