CHARLESTON, SC—United States Attorney William N. Nettles stated today that Leonard Riley III, age 32, of Charleston was convicted following a three day jury trial in federal court for his role in a bank robbery. Evidence presented during the trial established that Riley, along with a co-defendant, conspired to commit, and committed, a series of armed robberies that included a liquor store and three banks, in both the Charleston and Georgetown area, in late 2013 and early 2014. The last of the robberies occurred at the Citizen’s Bank in Georgetown, SC, on March 3, 2014. Using surveillance video from the bank, and information gathered from previous robberies, Georgetown Police Department Detectives were able to apprehend both defendants within hours of the Citizen’s bank robbery. At the time of arrest Detectives recovered money stolen from the robbery, some of the clothes worn during the robbery, and the guns used during the robbery, from the car defendants were driving. Riley’s co-defendant Ryan Bonneau, age 47, of Charleston, pled guilty prior to trial, and explained to the jury that, prior to the Citizen’s bank, he and Riley had robbed banks in both Charleston and Georgetown, as well as a liquor store in North Charleston, SC.

Riley was convicted of Conspiring to Commit Armed Bank Robbery (18 U.S.C. §371), Armed Bank Robbery (18 U.S.C. §2113) and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence (18 U.S.C. §924(c)). The Bank Robbery charge carries up to twenty five years’ imprisonment, the Conspiracy up to five years, and the Firearm charge carries a mandatory minimum five year consecutive sentence. United States District Court Judge David C. Norton oversaw the trial, and will impose sentence for both defendants at a later date.

The convictions were the result of an investigation conducted by the Georgetown Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Charleston Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Nathan Williams and Emmanuel Ferguson of the Charleston office prosecuted the case.