Source: Office of United States Attorneys
ROANOKE, Va. – The third man involved in robbing the Carter Bank and Trust on Hershberger Road in Roanoke in June 2023, pled guilty recently in U.S. District Court in Roanoke for his role in the robbery.
Tishawn Simpson, 25, of Roanoke, pled guilty last week to one count of bank robbery.
According to court documents, on June 22, 2023, two masked men, Simpson and Demonte Belcher, entered the Carter Bank and Trust, one carrying a blue bank bag and the other carrying a green plastic bag and presented the teller with a note that stated “[l]ets make everything right you have least (sic) than 30 seconds to give me $50K or die got nothing to lose.” As a result of this threat, the men left the bank with $8,659 in cash, but left the demand note behind. Simpson was identified as a suspect when a DNA analysis revealed that he had contributed to a DNA profile that the FBI Laboratory had developed from one of the robber’s masks that law enforcement recovered.
A third man, Ramel Abrams, did not physically enter the bank, however his fingerprints were found on the demand note and the clothing worn by both robbers was found inside of his apartment. Furthermore, location information obtained from Abrams’ phone records indicates that he was near Carter Bank & Trust just prior to the robbery.
All three men have pled guilty for their roles in the robbery. In August, Belcher was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and in December Abrams was sentenced to 30 months for his role in the robbery Simpson will be sentenced in May.
Acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’ s Richmond Division Stanley M. Meador, and Chief of the Roanoke City Police Department Scott Booth made the announcement.
The Roanoke City Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case and received assistance from the Star City Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Salem Police Department, and the Roanoke City Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Keith Parrella and M. Coleman Adams are prosecuting the case.