Maryland Man Convicted of Acting as an Accessory in September 2008 Bank Robbery
Defendant Served as Getaway Driver
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 02, 2011 |
WASHINGTON—Edward Weary, 53, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, pled guilty today to acting as an accessory after a bank robbery in September 2008, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Weary appeared before the Honorable John D. Bates in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $125,000. Sentencing will be set for a date in November 2011.
According to a factual proffer of evidence presented during today’s court proceeding, on the morning of September 18, 2008, Weary met Derrick Benson and an accomplice in Southeast Washington and agreed to serve as the driver in a bank robbery. Weary then drove Benson and the accomplice to a PNC Bank in the 600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE.
Weary parked his car on a street behind the bank and waited as Benson and the accomplice went into the bank. Benson stood as the lookout at the front of the bank as the accomplice approached a bank employee and handed over a note demanding money. Benson and the other individual stole $64,080 from the bank before returning to Weary’s waiting vehicle. Weary then drove Benson and the accomplice from the scene. Later that day, Weary received some of the proceeds from the bank robbery. Benson, now 34, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced in March 2011 to more than eight years in prison for his role in this and other offenses.
In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director McJunkin, and Chief Lanier commended the investigative work of the special agents from the FBI’s Washington Field Office who worked on the case, as well as MPD Detective Elmer Baylor and the entire joint FBI/MPD Violent Crimes Task Force. They also praised the work of the FBI Physical Scientist/Forensic Examiner who assisted in the investigation. Lastly, they praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys David B. Kent and Frederick W. Yette, who are prosecuting this matter.