Former Henderson Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery

RALEIGH—United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court yesterday RODNEY WILLIAMS TALLEY, 32, pled guilty before United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle to bank robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2113(a) and (d), and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c).

According to the September 20, 2011 superseding indictment, on May 11, 2011, TALLEY robbed the then Wachovia Bank on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, North Carolina, taking over $40,000. The investigation revealed that TALLEY, dressed in dark clothes and carrying a loaded Colt .45 handgun, entered the bank. Pointing the gun at the tellers and handing them plastic bags, he demanded that they fill the bags with money from the bottom drawer. Along with the money, the tellers included a tracking device. Taking the bags, TALLEY went out the back entrance and entered his getaway vehicle.

Dispatch conveyed the tracking information from the device and officers were able to locate TALLEY. TALLEY tried to flee, taking police on a high-speed chase. TALLEY crashed the vehicle after officers threw down stop sticks. TALLEY then attempted to evade officers on foot. TALLEY was apprehended and the firearm and money were recovered from the vehicle.

This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative which encourages federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified “team effort” against gun crime, targeting repeat offenders who continually plague their communities.

At sentencing, set for the June 2012 term of court, TALLEY faces up to 25 years’ imprisonment for the bank robbery charge and up to a life term of imprisonment for the firearm charge.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Raleigh Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette is prosecuting the case.