Baltimore Man Sentenced to 14 Years In Federal Prison for Firearm and Armed Bank Robbery Charges

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Richard Tingler, age 56, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 14 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, on charges of armed bank robbery and brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence.  The sentence was imposed on April 6, 2021.

The sentence plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD).

According to his plea agreement, on January 23, 2019 and February 1, 2019, Richard Tingler and his co-defendant David Gollahon committed two-armed bank robberies in Baltimore, Maryland, with co-defendant Richard Adams serving as the getaway driver in each robbery.  During each of the robberies, Tingler and Gollahon brandished firearms and threatened bank employees. 

Specifically, on January 23, 2019, Adams drove Tingler and Gollahon in a gray Hyundai Accent car that he had rented two weeks earlier, to a bank located in the 3600 block of Boston Street in Baltimore.  Tingler carried a loaded black .45-caliber firearm and Gollahon carried a loaded black .380-caliber firearm and both men wore ski masks to disguise their identities.  Tingler also carried a black leather duffel bag.

After entering the bank, Tingler approached the victim teller, pointed his firearm at her and demanded $100 dollar bills and “loose bills” from the bottom drawer of the till.  Meanwhile, Gollahon held the other bank employees and customers at gunpoint in the lobby area of the bank.  He told the bank employees and customers, “don’t move.”  Tingler took more than $7,000 in cash from the victim teller.  Tingler and Gollahon then ran away, accidentally dropping more than $5,000 in cash as they ran through a parking lot.  They got into the waiting gray Hyundai Accent car driven by Adams, and drove away.

On February 1, 2019, Adams drove Tingler and Gollahon in a 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo, which was registered to Adams, to a bank located in the 2900 block of O’Donnell Street in Baltimore.  Tingler and Gollahon each had the same firearm they had used in connection with the January 23, 2019 bank robbery, and their faces were covered.  After entering the bank, Tingler and Gollahon approached the teller window.  Tingler pointed his firearm at the teller and demanded $100 bills.  The victim teller handed over cash from the till, but Tingler continued to demand more money.  At the same time, Gollahon approached the teller line with his firearm pointed in the direction of the tellers and bank customers.  In response to the demands for more cash, the victim teller and a co-worker went to the bank’s vault and removed more cash, which they provided to Tingler and Gollahon, along with a GPS tracker, which was activated. 

Tingler and Gollahon then fled the bank and got into the 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo driven by Adams, who was waiting for them.  Adams drove the Monte Carlo away from the bank.  Law enforcement received GPS information concerning the location of the GPS tracker taken from the bank, which they relayed to Baltimore Police Department (BPD).

BPD officers stopped the vehicle.  Adams, Tingler, and Gollahon were ordered out of the vehicle and arrested.  At the time of his arrest, Gollahon had the same firearm he used during the robbery on his person.  Law enforcement searched Adams’ car and recovered a blue backpack containing the cash taken during the robbery, the GPS tracker, and the firearm carried by Tingler during both bank robberies. 

Later that day, law enforcement searched Adams’ residence in Essex, Maryland and seized Gollahon’s gray hooded sweatshirt and the black leather duffel bag carried by Tingler during the January 23, 2019 robbery. 

Tingler was detained pending trial. During the period of his pre-trial detention, Tingler was heard on lawfully recorded jail calls stating that he “robbed a bank” and that it “didn’t work out.” On a separate call, Tingler admitted that the cash taken from the bank “had a GPS in it.” On another call, Tingler described in more detail the banks he robbed, stating that he robbed two banks in Canton, and that he wouldn’t have gotten caught if he hadn’t taken a GPS tracker.

Co-defendants David Gollahon, age 59, of Baltimore, Maryland, and Richard Adams, age 60, of Essex, Maryland, were sentenced to 13 years in federal prison and 90 months in federal prison, respectively.

Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the FBI, the BPD, and the BCPD for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Riley and Daniel Loveland, Jr., who prosecuted the case.

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