Lithonia Man Indicted in Credit Union Robbery
Defendant Led Police on High Speed Chase in Conyers

ATLANTA—CEPEDA BROUGHTON, 40, of Lithonia, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of armed bank robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. BROUGHTON was arraigned this morning by a United States Magistrate Judge.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “We will not allow the streets of our communities to be threatened by bank robbers with guns in high-speed chases. This defendant allegedly robbed a Conyers credit union at gunpoint, terrorizing the bank employees and customers, who were ordered into a back room of the bank and bound with duct tape. The defendant then allegedly led Conyers police on a high-speed chase that resulted in multiple car accidents before his vehicle was forced off the road. He is now safely in custody and faces the appropriate charges.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the indictment and the criminal complaint, and other information presented in court: On March 9, 2011, at approximately 3:00 p.m., BROUGHTON entered the Georgia’s Own Credit Union on Sigman Road in Conyers, Georgia, brandishing a handgun. BROUGHTON ordered three bank employees and a customer into a back room of the bank. The employees and a customer were bound with duct tape. BROUGHTON forced the fourth bank employee to open the bank vault and give him all the money that was inside. He also forced the bank employee to give him the money in two teller stations. Afterwards, BROUGHTON ordered the fourth bank employee to the back room where he bound that employee with duct tape. BROUGHTON fled the bank with over $140,000 in cash.

Another customer, outside the bank, realized a robbery was in progress and called 911, which dispatched Conyers Police Department Officers to the scene. BROUGHTON fled the bank in a stolen vehicle and led police on a chase on Sigman Road and Highway 138 in Conyers, causing multiple traffic accidents. After police forced BROUGHTON’s vehicle off the road, he fled on foot, twice turning to point his gun at the pursuing officers before surrendering.

The indictment charges BROUGHTON with one count of armed bank robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000; one count of use of a firearm during a crime of violence, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000; and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years and a fine of up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

This case is being investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Teresa D. Hoyt and Richard Moultrie are prosecuting the case.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

For further information please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.