Fort Lauderdale Man Charged in Wilton Manors Bank Robbery

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Paul O’Connell, Chief, Wilton Manors Police Department, announced that defendant Cedrick Shivers, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was arrested and charged with bank robbery.

More specifically, Shivers was charged in a criminal complaint with bank robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a). If convicted, Shivers faces maximum statutory term of imprisonment of up to 20 years. The defendant made his initial appearance in federal court yesterday and a pre-trial detention hearing is scheduled for Friday, February 10, 2012 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum in Fort Lauderdale.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, on February 3, 2012, Shivers entered a bank in Wilton Manors. Shivers approached the teller and presented a hand-written bank robbery demand note, instructing the teller not to active any silent alarms and not to provide him with any dye packs. Shivers’ note also instructed the teller to give him only certain denominations and threatened to bomb the building if the teller did not comply.

After fleeing the bank with the money, a Wilton Manors police officer stopped Shivers for speeding. During the stop, the officer saw red smoke in the passenger compartment of Shivers’ car, red dye-stained money on the front driver’s seat, and red dye stains on Shivers’ white t-shirt. Shivers was then arrested. After his arrest, Shivers said to the police officers, “You got me red handed,” a reference to the residual red dye on his hands.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and Wilton Manors Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Katz.

A complaint is only an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.