Serial Bank Robber Convicted by Federal Jury

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A federal jury convicted a Fayetteville man on Friday on one charge of bank robbery, three charges of armed bank robbery, and three charges of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Karim Brown, 32, engaged in a serial bank robbery spree that spanned a month from December 2021 to January 2022. The robberies occurred in Hope Mills, Angier, Fuquay-Varina, and Fayetteville.  Karim Brown was the robber who entered each of the banks and brandished a firearm in three of them. Shiheem Brown, who pled guilty to one of the armed bank robberies and a charge of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison on December 11, 2024.

Karim Brown began his spree by robbing the PNC Bank in Hope Mills.  He entered the bank and demanded money from the teller, which totaled $4,674.  On New Year’s Eve 2021, Shiheem Brown was captured on surveillance footage scouting the First Bank in Angier, before Karim Brown entered, brandished a firearm, and demanded cash.  He got away with $4,611.  Two weeks later, on January 14, 2022, Karim Brown robbed the PNC on Main Street in Fuquay-Varina, brandishing a firearm and getting away with $9,000. For the final act in their spree, Shiheem Brown was again captured on surveillance footage scouting the Fidelity Bank on Village Drive in Fayetteville. Karim Brown then entered the bank, brandished a firearm equipped with a laser sight, and demanded cash. During this robbery he passed a note to the teller indicating that he was willing to shoot her.  A bank manager at Fidelity exited her office to see what the commotion was about, and Karim Brown pointed his firearm at her and ordered her to walk across the bank to the teller counter while the tellers placed $15,336 in a bag.   Karim Brown then fled, but during the flight, Shiheem Brown took a selfie as he drove away, capturing himself driving and Karim Brown removing his disguise in the back seat. The selfie was taken approximately 7 minutes after the robbery (pictured below).

Police broke the case open when they were able to track the vehicle used in the Fuquay-Varina bobbery back to Shiheem and Karim Brown. Shiheem Brown was arrested at an apartment in Fayetteville by Fayetteville PD and the U.S. Marshals Service Task Force on January 27, 2022. During the arrest, Shiheem Brown threw a loaded firearm off the balcony of the apartment, which was recovered. The firearm matched the description of the firearm used in the robberies. Police also recovered $2,650 cash during Shiheem Brown’s arrest. Karim Brown was arrested at this residence the same day.

Karim Brown faces a mandatory minimum of 31 years’ imprisonment and a statutory maximum of life in prison when sentenced on a later date.

Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the verdict. The Federal Bureau of Investigations, Hope Mills PD, Angier PD, Fuquay-Varina PD, Fayetteville PD and the United States Marshals Service helped investigate the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phil Aubart and Kimberly Dixon prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:23-CR-251.

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