District Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery
- Quick Action by Security Guard and Police Led to His Arrest -

     WASHINGTON - Kenneth Lewis, 40, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a federal charge of bank robbery, 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).

     The guilty plea took place before the Honorable Magistrate Judge Alan Kay in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Lewis is to be sentenced on Aug. 10, 2012, before the Honorable Senior Judge Thomas F. Hogan. Under the terms of the plea agreement, subject to the Court’s approval, Lewis will be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

     According to the government’s evidence, on Nov. 9, 2011, at approximately 10:30 a.m., Lewis entered the City First Bank of DC, in the 1400 block of U Street NW. He was wearing a black ball cap, black jacket, dark jeans, glasses, and tennis shoes, and he was using a cane. While inside the bank, Lewis walked to the teller's counter and presented a note demanding money. After reading the note, the teller observed that Lewis had at least one hand in his jacket pocket, causing her to believe that Lewis might be armed.

     Fearing for her safety, the teller complied with Lewis’s demand and provided him with more than $600. Lewis took the cash and the note and proceeded towards the bank's exit. The teller signaled to the bank's security guard, who confronted Lewis and stopped him from exiting the bank. In the meantime, the teller called 911, and MPD officers, who were in the area, responded to the bank.

     When the MPD officers arrived, they found over $600 in one of Lewis’s pockets, and the demand note was found in another pocket. No other cash was found on Lewis. When he was taken into custody Lewis was wearing a black ball cap, black jacket, dark jeans, glasses, and tennis shoes, and he had a cane.

     Lewis was interviewed by law enforcement. He identified the demand note as something he had written, and he admitted that he used it to rob the City First Bank of DC.

     In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McJunkin, and Chief Lanier commended the exceptional investigative work of the FBI/MPD Violent Crimes Task Force. They also thanked Paralegal Carolyn Carter-McKinley, who provided administrative support, and, they praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine K. Connelly, who is prosecuting this matter.

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