Bank Branch Manager Sentenced to Over 8 Years in Prison for Armored Truck Robbery

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Valentina Elebesunu, age 50, of Temple Hills, Maryland to 105 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to commit, and committing, an armed robbery of an armored truck.  Judge Hazel also entered an order that Elebesunu pay restitution of $272,956.17.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department. 

Elebesunu was the branch manager at a Bank of America located at 3413 Kenilworth Avenue in Hyattsville, Maryland.  According to evidence presented at the five day trial, between mid-November and November 21, 2012, Elebesunu conspired with Damione Lewis – a security guard at the bank, Delacey Brown, Taurian Miller, Adriane Baldwin and Barrington Turner to rob an armored truck that serviced the bank branch.  Elebesunu had provided Lewis with inside information about the amount of funds scheduled to be picked up by the armored truck.  Lewis then provided that information to the other co-conspirators.

On November 21, 2012, an armored car employee picked up $272,956.17 from the bank. Elebesunu and Lewis were working their respective jobs at the bank at the time.  Elebesunu’s co-conspirators were in vans outside the bank.   As the employee was taking the money from the bank to the armored truck, Elebesunu’s co-conspirators brandished firearms at the employee, took the money bags to their vans and drove away.  The robbery proceeds were later divided between Elebesunu and her co-conspirators.

Damione Lewis, age 36, of New Carrolton, Maryland; Delacey Kinte Brown, age 38, of Landover, Maryland; and Taurian Devon Miller, age 31, and Adrian Baldwin, age 29, both of Washington, DC; and Barrington Turner, age 35, of Forestville, Maryland; have all pleaded guilty to their roles in the robbery.  Lewis is scheduled to be sentenced on September 2, 2015.  The remaining four defendants were sentenced to between 51 and 96 months in prison.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Prince George’s County Police Department and other members of the Cross Border Task Force for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau and Bryan E. Foreman, who prosecuted the case.