Two Men Sentenced For Armed Bank Robbery

STATESVILLE, N.C. – Earlier today, U.S. District Judge Richard Voorhees handed down lengthy prison terms to two men involved in a 2013 armed bank robbery, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  Judge Voorhees sentenced Darius Donnell Freeman, 33, of Charlotte to serve 447 months in prison.  Freeman’s conspirator, Wincy Joseph, 29, also of Charlotte, was sentenced to 135 months in prison.   Judge Voorhees also ordered the defendants to serve five years under court supervision following their release from prison and to pay $5,185.99 as restitution.

In May 2014, a federal jury convicted both men of armed bank robbery and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence charges.  The jury also found Freeman guilty of carjacking and a second possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, Chief Matthew A. Selves of the Troutman Police Department and Chief Rodney D. Monroe of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

According to filed court documents and trial proceedings:

In or about May 20, 2013, at approximately 5:15 a.m. Freeman carjacked a victim at gunpoint at a Circle K gas station located on South Boulevard in Charlotte.  Later that morning, Freeman and Joseph used the carjacked vehicle to rob a Bank of America branch in Troutman, N.C.  Soon after the bank opened, Freeman entered the bank wearing a black cap, sunglasses, gloves and brandishing a silver handgun.  Freeman jumped on the tellers’ counter and demanded cash.  Joseph entered the bank behind Freeman, dressed in a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head, sunglasses and gloves, and demanded cash from another bank employee.  The defendants then fled the scene with $5,185.99 in cash, driving off in the car Freeman had jacked earlier that day.  Law enforcement later found the car abandoned on Interstate-77 in Iredell County.  The defendants were identified five days later, following a tip from a concerned citizen.  Freeman was arrested on June 6, 2013 and Joseph on June 13, 2013.

The investigation was led by the FBI, the Troutman Police Department and CMPD.  Acting U.S. Attorney Rose also thanked the Mooresville Police Department, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office and the Statesville Police Department for their assistance in the investigation. 

The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Greene and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca McNerney.