Knoxville Resident Charged with Recent BB&T Bank Robbery
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 31, 2012 |
KNOXVILLE, TN—Gordon Harold Williams, 49, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was arrested today, July 31, 2012, and charged with the July 30, 2012, robbery of the BB&T Bank, 7108 Maynardville Pike, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Williams appeared in U.S. District Court today and entered a plea of not guilty.
According to an affidavit on file with the U.S. District Court Clerk in support of the complaint, Williams admitted to robbing the bank when he was arrested. He also confessed to having an explosive device designed to be detonated with a lighter and a liquid accelerant in a backpack during the robbery.
Further investigation by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Safe Streets Task Force and Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) Major Crimes Unit led to a potential improvised explosive device located at a Fountain City address. Knoxville Police Department Bomb Squad and Knoxville Fire Department HAZMAT both responded to the scene and recovered the explosive device.
This matter was a joint investigation of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the KCSO Major Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Lewen, Jr. will represent the United States.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.