Plymouth Man Sentenced for Robbing Brooklyn Center Bank

A 43-year-old Plymouth man was sentenced today in federal court for robbing a Brooklyn Center bank in June of 2009. In Minneapolis, United States District Court Judge David S. Doty sentenced Patrick Fitzgerald Williams to 58 months in prison and three years of supervised release on one count of bank robbery. Williams was indicted on June 16, 2009, and pleaded guilty on September 8, 2009.

In his plea agreement, Williams admitted taking $550 from a TCF Bank in Brooklyn Center. A Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit indicates that at approximately 9:10 a.m. on June 6, 2009, the bank, located at 2950 County Road 10, was robbed. The robber, later identified as Williams, entered through the main entrance and waited in line. When it was his turn to approach a teller, he did so, showing the teller a note that read, “Don’t talk to anyone, give me everything or I will shoot you. I have a gun.”

Williams kept his hand in the pocket of his jacket and acted as if he had a gun. The teller saw what looked like the shape of a gun barrel pressing through the cloth of the jacket pocket. As a result, the teller complied with Williams’s directions and gave him cash. After grabbing the money, Williams left the bank and headed south on Xerxes Avenue.

Surveillance photographs of the robbery were distributed through the local media, and police received tips by citizens that the robber appeared to be Williams. On June 10, 2009, Williams turned himself in to the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

This case was the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Brooklyn Center Police Department.