Baltimore Man Sentenced To 19 Years In Prison For Armed Bank Robbery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           Contact ELIZABETH MORSE

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                     at (410) 209-4885      

Baltimore, Maryland – United States District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Timothy Allen McNeal, age 31, of Baltimore, Maryland today to 19 years in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for armed robbery, conspiracy, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  McNeal had been convicted on these charges by a federal jury on February 26, 2018.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Varisco of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Gary L. Gardner of the Howard County Police Department.

According to evidence presented at trial, on August 4, 2016, McNeal and his brother, Markus Fields, age 28, of Baltimore, robbed the Howard County Education Federal Credit Union (HCEFCU) in Ellicott City, Maryland at gunpoint.  Surveillance video captured the robbery, during which both Fields and McNeal entered the credit union wearing ski masks to cover their faces.  Fields entered first, carrying a black backpack.  McNeal entered after, carrying a rifle-style long gun with a large magazine visible on the top.  McNeal pointed the gun at a bank teller and a customer, forcing the victims to the ground.  Fields opened the teller drawer and began rifling through it.  McNeal pointed the gun toward the supervisor’s office, forcing the employee inside to exit the office and, ultimately, open the credit union’s safe.  After opening the safe, the employee was ordered to the ground, where she remained while McNeal and Fields removed the cash inside.

McNeal and Fields then used zip ties that they had stored in their backpack to tie and restrain the credit union customer and employees.  McNeal and Fields then left the HCEFCU by climbing out of a back window. 

McNeal, Fields, and their mother, an employee of the Howard County School District, were all account holders at the HCEFCU.  On August 4, 2016, a few hours after the robbery, McNeal and Fields went to Wal-Mart and purchased two large televisions.  On August 6, 2016, two days after the robbery, Fields purchased a maroon Lexus with cash.  On August 8, 2016, McNeal posted a photograph of a maroon Lexus with the caption “we working.”  On August 17, 2016, overdue rent was paid on Fields’ and McNeal’s residence. 

During execution of a search warrant, law enforcement recovered black ski masks, clothing matching the clothing worn by McNeal during the bank robbery, banded cash, and cell phones from Fields and McNeal’s residence. 

Co-defendant Fields pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery on February 9, 2018, and on May 8, 2018, was sentenced by Judge Blake to ten years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the ATF, the Howard County Police Department, and the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work on the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Perry and Burden Walker, who prosecuted the case.