December 22, 2014

Morris County Man Sentenced to 141 Months for Armed Bank Robbery

NEWARK, NJ—A Randolph, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 141 months in prison for robbing a bank at gunpoint, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.

Rahman Fulton, 35, was previously convicted by a federal jury of one count of bank robbery and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of the bank robbery. Fulton was convicted after a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chester, who imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:

Fulton was charged with robbing the PNC bank in Randolph May 25, 2012. Fulton entered the bank wearing a black cloth mask covering his head and face and holding a handgun. He demanded and received money from a bank teller. The bank teller slipped a GPS tracking device into the money she handed over to Fulton. The GPS data placed the tracking device in Fulton’s bedroom minutes after the robbery. He later lied to the police about his whereabouts during the robbery and made other incriminating statements to his girlfriend and girlfriend’s sister, including a call just 10 minutes after the robbery to someone that worked across the street from the bank asking them if they had heard about the robbery.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chester sentenced Fulton to serve three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, with the investigation leading to the charge. He also thanked the Randolph Township Police Department and Morris County Prosecutor’s Office for their contributions to the case.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel V. Shapiro and Elizabeth Harris of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.

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Defense counsel: Carol Gillen Esq. and K. Anthony Thomas Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defenders, Newark.