Quincy Man Convicted Of Committing Two Bank Robberies

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury has found Kenneth Lamar Ellington (46, Quincy) guilty of two counts of bank robbery. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each count.  Sentencing has been set for October 19, 2015, before United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard.

Ellington was charged by indictment on September 17, 2014.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on the morning of April 9, 2014, Ellington robbed a branch of TD Bank in Live Oak, Florida.  Disguised with a fake beard and cap, he presented a teller with a note demanding money.  When the teller failed to act fast enough, Ellington instructed her to hurry and gestured toward his waistband as if he were reaching for a firearm. The teller gave Ellington $935 that included a dye pack. Ellington then left the bank with the cash and dye pack grasped in a softcover book. Several bank employees witnessed the robbery, including one who identified Ellington at trial. As Ellington walked away from the TD Bank branch, the dye pack ignited, causing him to drop the money, demand note, and book. A Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) fingerprint analyst later located Ellington’s fingerprint on the recovered items.

Approximately three hours after the first robbery, Ellington entered the First Federal Bank of Florida, also in Live Oak, wearing the same disguise. He again presented a demand note to a teller, and stated “Hurry up and no one will get hurt.”  Ellington escaped from the second bank with $4,105.

Bank security camera footage showed Ellington exiting the bank and walking toward a nearby business. Soon after, a witness in that business’s parking lot found a garbage bag containing Ellington’s disguise and the shirt that he had worn during both robberies. After this evidence was recovered, FDLE analysts located Ellington’s fingerprint on the garbage bag and his DNA on the disguise and shirt. In addition, a witness recalled seeing a black Dodge Charger parked at the location where the disguise for Ellington’s second robbery was recovered. When Ellington was arrested, on April 14, 2015, he was driving a black Dodge Charger.

This case was investigated by the Live Oak Police Department, the Suwanee County Sherriff’s Office, the Perry Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dale R. Campion and Michael J. Coolican.