Syracuse Man Sentenced For Robbing Two Banks

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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Gary R. Latray, 55, of Syracuse, NY, who was convicted of aggravated bank robbery, was sentenced to 77 months by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Alsup, who handled the case, stated that on November 10, 2009, the defendant entered Northwest Savings Bank at 3670 McKinley Parkway in Hamburg, NY, and handed the teller a note demanding a sum of money and indicating that he had an explosive device. The teller gave Latray a specific amount of money in response to the threat.

On December 1, 2009, the defendant entered a Suntrust Bank in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and carried out a similar style bank robbery.

The Court ordered that the defendant’s 77 month sentenced be served consecutively to a 30 year sentenced Latray received in Maryland on state robbery charges.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hamburg Police Department, under the direction of Chief Gregory Wickett, the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Virginia, under the direction of acting U.S. Attorney Anthony Giorno, the Harrisonburg, Virginia Police Department, under the direction of Chief Stephen B. Monticelli, the West Virginia State Police, under the direction of Colonel Jay Smithers, and the Garrett County, Maryland Sherriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Rob Corley.