Syracuse Man Pleads Guilty To Robbing Two Banks

CONTACT:     BARBARA BURNS
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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Gary R. Latray, 54, of Syracuse, NY, pleaded guilty to aggravated bank robbery before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Alsup, who is handling 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 plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hamburg Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Williams, 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.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 27, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.