A Marietta man has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after robbing six banks last year.
Kevin Ray Williamson, 52, pleaded guilty to six counts of armed robbery and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in February. He was sentenced Monday.
“Williamson’s violent crime spree put citizens in our community on edge for months, especially bank employees just doing their jobs,” U.S. Attorney John Horn said in a statement. “Thankfully, an observant citizen brought his criminal conduct to an abrupt end.”
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A release from the Department of Justice says that Williamson’s string of crimes began on Feb. 4, 2016, when he entered a Fifth Third Bank in Marietta. He pointed a handgun at the teller and threatened to “empty the clip” on her if she didn’t give him money from the drawer.
From April to July, he robbed three more Marietta banks – a Regions Bank, a BB&T and a PNC Bank. All of his robberies were caught on surveillance video.
On Aug. 22, Williamson expanded his crimes to Atlanta, where he robbed a Fidelity Bank. On Sept. 8, he went to north Fulton County and robbed a Renasant Bank in Johns Creek. During that robbery, the DOJ release says, he told a teller that she would die if he did not receive more than $5,000.
Williamson wore mostly the same clothes and similar disguises at each bank – sporting a beard, a khaki baseball cap, a dark colored suit, a dark green polo shirt, and sunglasses. His robbery spree ended when a witness at the Johns Creek robbery saw him drive away in an Infiniti coupe that was traced back to him.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzette A. Smikle prosecuted the case and Williamson was investigated by the F.B.I.
“The lengthy sentence handed down in federal court removes a violent serial offender from our streets,” David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge at Atlanta’s F.BI. Field Office, said in a statement. “The details of the robberies committed by Mr. Williamson illustrate a total lack of regard for his victims, many of whom will, for many years, be dealing with the emotional trauma of having a gun pointed at them by an armed bank robber.”
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