Lafayette man sentenced to federal prison in connection with armed bank robberies in Texas and Louisiana

BEAUMONT, Texas – A Lafayette, LA man has been sentenced to federal prison in the Eastern District of Texas for robbing banks in Texas and Louisiana, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Charleston Jamal Washington, 39, pleaded guilty to two separate armed bank robberies and was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on October 2, 2025.  

According to information presented in court, on June 14, 2024, Washington entered the Home Bank in Welsh, LA, wearing a bucket hat and a mask covering most of his face. Washington pointed a handgun at one of the bank tellers and demanded money from her and two others. The bank employees complied, and Washington placed the money in a draw-string backpack and fled with approximately $11,500 in U.S. currency. On July 18, 2024, Washington, wearing a similar disguise, entered First State Bank in Vidor and pointed a handgun at a bank teller while demanding money. Washington placed the money in a similar draw-string backpack and left with approximately $7,676 in cash. On that occasion, surveillance video revealed that Washington drove off in a distinctive blue, step-side pickup truck. Investigators subsequently connected the truck to Washington and found that he had purchased it with cash the same day as the robbery of the Home Bank in Welsh. Washington was arrested on September 19, 2024, after police in Lafayette stopped him for a traffic violation. At that time, he was found in possession of a firearm that matched the handgun used in both bank robberies.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

This case was investigated by the FBI-Beaumont Resident Agency; FBI-Lake Charles Resident Agency; FBI-Lafayette Resident Agency; Vidor Police Department; Orange Police Department; Welsh Police Department; Crowley Police Department; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Lafayette Police Department; and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross.

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