Man in Prison for Bank Robbery

A South Carolina man was sentenced on Tuesday, October 30, 2012, to serve 138 months in prison for the January 2011 armed robbery of a Sun Trust Bank, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division; Chief Debra C. Duncan of the Monroe Police Department; Chief Larry Brown of South Carolina’s Pageland Police Department; Chief Carl Webber of the Marshville Police Department; and Sheriff Sam Parker of South Carolina’s Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office.
In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. also sentenced Harold Elwood Pritchett, 56, of Pageland, South Carolina, to three years of supervised release and ordered Pritchett to pay $7,418 as restitution.
In July 2012, Pritchett’s co-conspirator, Detrick Rayshawn Gaddy, 29, of Marshville, North Carolina, was sentenced to serve 84 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for his role in the bank robbery. He was also ordered to pay $7,418 in restitution, jointly with Pritchett.
In October 2011, Pritchett pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bank robbery, armed bank robbery, and use of a firearm in connection with the bank robbery. In November 2011, Gaddy, who was the getaway driver, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and use and carry of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence by aiding and abetting Pritchett’s brandishing of the firearm during the robbery.
According to court documents and court proceedings, on January 7, 2011, Pritchett, wearing a stocking over his head, entered the Sun Trust Bank branch located at 1908 Old Charlotte Highway in Monroe, North Carolina. Armed with a handgun, Pritchett robbed the bank, while Gaddy waited in a burgundy Oldsmobile in an adjacent car wash. Pritchett stole $7,418 from the bank, according to court documents. Following the robbery, Pritchett ran to the car wash and got into Gaddy’s car. The two then drove to Pageland, where they split the money stolen from the bank, court records show.
Filed documents indicate that prior to the robbery, Pritchett and Gaddy had conspired to rob the bank and purchased a black stocking to use as a mask. Gaddy and Pritchett’s purchase of the mask was recorded on a store video camera system.
According to information contained in court documents and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, bank surveillance photos depicting the armed robber brandishing the firearm were broadcasted on local television news. A citizen watching the news identified Pritchett from the bank surveillance photos and contacted law enforcement. Based on this and other information, law enforcement officers arrested Pritchett and Gaddy. According to filed documents, law enforcement located the getaway car in Gaddy’s backyard, and in it they found the black stocking Pritchett used as a mask during the robbery and a receipt for the purchase of the stocking.
Pritchett has been in local federal custody since his arrest in July 2011. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without parole.
The investigation was led by the FBI and the Monroe Police Department, assisted by Pageland, South Carolina Police Department; Marshville Police Department; and Chesterfield County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office.
The prosecution for the United States was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. Gleason of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.