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Press Release

Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Six Armed Robberies

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia

NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced to 15 years in prison today for conspiring with others to conduct six armed robberies of banks and other financial institutions in Portsmouth and Chesapeake.

According to court documents, Rashad Harris, 26, and others robbed three separate Title Max stores and an Advance America Cash Advance store in Portsmouth, and an armed robbery of the BB&T bank in Chesapeake and a Wells Fargo bank in Portsmouth.  During these robberies, Harris and a co-conspirator would enter the financial institutions pretending to be interested in obtaining a loan. They would then suddenly brandish firearms and demand money.  During the last robbery of the Wells Fargo bank, Harris handed the teller a robbery note demanding money. Harris left the note behind and the tellers noticed it was a starter check issued by Wells Fargo bank to Harris. The tellers then looked up a picture of Rashad Harris on Facebook and noticed he was the same person who had just robbed them. In addition to his prison sentence, Harris was also ordered to pay $12,428 in restitution which was the total amount taken during all the armed robberies.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorney William D. Muhr prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-109.

Contact

Joshua Stueve
Director of Communications
joshua.stueve@usdoj.gov

Updated November 27, 2017

Topic
Violent Crime