Two Armed Bank Robbers Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison for Robbing the Citibank in Alameda

OAKLAND—Craig Goatley was sentenced today to 78 months in prison, and Calvin Earl Odom, Jr. was sentenced on April 10, 2014, to 86 months in prison for armed bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.

In pleading guilty, both men admitted that on the morning of August 3, 2013, they robbed the Citibank branch located at 1526 Webster Street in Alameda, California. Odom entered the bank first and sat down at a desk in the lobby area, purporting to be a bank customer. Goatley entered the bank moments later and proceeded to the customer line, where he waited for the next available teller. When the next teller became available, Goatley walked to the counter and brandished what appeared to be a black handgun. Goatley pointed the gun at the teller and demanded money. The frightened teller grabbed money from her teller drawers and tossed it in Goatley’s direction, ducking behind the teller counter. Goatley thereafter robbed a second teller who emerged from the back of the bank during the robbery. While Goatley was robbing the tellers, Odom pulled what appeared to be a black handgun from his waistband and pointed it at a bank employee who had been assisting him. Odom told the employee that the bank was being robbed and not to move. Goatley and Odom fled the bank, stealing $8,869. It was later discovered that the guns carried by Odom and Goatley were pellet guns.

Goatley, 28, of Oakland, and Odom, 25, of Berkeley, were indicted by a federal grand jury on October 10, 2013, for armed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) and (d). Both men were arrested on August 14, 2013, by the Alameda County’s Sheriff’s Office on separate charges and remained in state custody on those charges. The men initially appeared in federal court in November 2013 and have remained in federal custody since that time.

Both sentences were handed down by the Honorable Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, United States District Court Judge in Oakland. Judge Gonzalez Rogers also sentenced each defendant to a five-year period of supervised release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian C. Lewis prosecuted this case with the assistance of Janice Pagsanjan. This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Alameda Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.