Culpeper Man Sentenced for Robbing Bank

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA – A Culpeper, Virginia man, who was convicted last November for robbing a bank was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced.

Edward Lavon Ferris, 30, of Culpeper, Va., was convicted in November 2015, following a jury trial, of one count of aggravated bank robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during that bank robbery, one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm, one count of tampering with a witness and two counts relating to tampering with evidence.

Today in District Court, Ferris was sentenced to170 months of federal incarceration and five years of supervised release thereafter. The defendant was also ordered to pay $3,072 in restitution to the bank and a $600 special assessment to the court. Giovanni A. Waters, 32, of Culpeper, Va., was sentenced last week to 24 months in prison for his role in the robbery. Waters previously pled guilty to helping Ferris three weeks after the robbery by disposing of the gun and clothing used during the robbery.

“On January 6, 2015 the employees at SunTrust bank went to work like any other day. But instead of a productive day at their jobs, they were victimized by Mr. Ferris,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “Today’s sentence shows just how a serious and violent a crime this bank robbery was and how many people it negatively affected.”

According to evidence presented at trial by Assistant United States Attorney Nancy S. Healey, on the morning of January 6, 2015, Ferris, while wearing a ski-mask, gloves, and a black North Face with the logos covered by tape, robbed a SunTrust Bank in Culpeper, Virginia at gunpoint while brandishing a Ruger .357 revolver. As shown in the bank surveillance film that was played during trial, the defendant, immediately after entering the bank, produced a revolver and pointed the gun at one or both of the tellers and proceeded to rob the bank before fleeing.  During the trial, the jury heard recorded jail calls made to Waters during which Ferris asked Waters to remove the above-referenced items from his mother’s home.  Other evidence also showed Ferris’ attempts to get one or more witnesses to lie.  

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Culpeper Police Department, and the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Nancy S. Healey prosecuted the case for the United States.