Washington, D.C. Man Sentenced For Robbing Banks

Greenbelt, Maryland – Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Keith McBride, age 25, of Washington, D.C., today to 42 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to commit bank robbery.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, McBride, Devontae West and Stephanie Fletcher stole vehicles to use during bank robberies, designated a co-conspirator to act as a getaway driver, wrote demand notes to present to bank tellers, used juveniles to enter the banks to demand money, used cell phones to maintain constant contact during the bank robberies and divided the proceeds of the bank robberies amongst themselves.

More specifically, on four occasions from March 13 to May 22, 2013, McBride and others, including juveniles, drove to the following bank branches where he stole a total of $9,093: TD Bank, PNC Bank and Citibank in Washington, D.C.; and SunTrust Bank in Forestville, Maryland. Also, on May 13, 2013 McBride and his conspirators drove to Capitol One Bank in Suitland, Maryland to rob the bank, but left without having obtained any money.

Devontae West, age 26, of Washington, D.C., previously pleaded guilty to his participation in the conspiracy and to possession of child pornography. West and the government have agreed that if the Court accepts the plea agreement, West will be sentenced to 12 years in prison. Chief Judge Chasanow scheduled West’s sentencing for June 16, 2014.

Stephanie Fletcher, age 36, of Washington, D.C., has also pleaded guilty to her participation in the conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2, 2014.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "resources" tab on the left of the page.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney LisaMarie Freitas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Sullivan, who prosecuted the case.