Two-Time Bank Robber Pleads Guilty, Targets Same Bank Location

MACON, Ga. – A Macon resident recently released from federal prison for robbing a local bank in 2013 pleaded guilty this week to attempting to rob a bank at the same location, calling his probation officer to report his own crime.

William Jeffrey Lowder, Jr., 41, pleaded guilty to attempted bank robbery before U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal on May 23. Lowder faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing has not been scheduled. There is no parole in the federal system.

“The defendant’s choice to attempt to rob a community bank located near a busy university campus caused unnecessary panic in a peaceful place of business,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “As Mr. Lowder well knows, individuals who threaten the peace will face consequences. I want to thank the U.S. Probation Office, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI for their quick response.”

“Lowder’s prior prison time was apparently not enough of a teaching moment for him because he returned to his bank robbing ways while he was still on supervised release for the last bank robbery he committed,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Thanks to the assistance of our partners with the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, he’ll have up to 20 years in federal prison to think about what he’ll do the next time he is released from prison.”

According to facts presented in court, Lowder walked into the Truist Bank on Mercer University Drive in Macon at approximately 11:00 a.m. on Jan. 27. He approached a teller and handed over a note that read, “Money out the register, no dye packs, Sorry!” Lowder reached behind his back, which the clerk believed meant that he had a firearm; Lowder did not have a weapon. When he was told that the clerk did not have a register, Lowder left the bank.

Lowder was recently released from federal prison for robbing a bank at the same location in 2013 and was serving a term of supervised release. An hour after leaving the bank, Lowder called his U.S. Probation officer to report his crime and his location. The defendant was quickly taken into custody in Macon. The bank robbery was captured on surveillance cameras.

The case was investigated by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Probation Office and FBI.

Deputy Criminal Chief Will Keyes is prosecuting the case for the government.