Three men were sentenced to federal prison after being convicted of holding employees of a central Georgia bank at gunpoint and robbing the place, according to prosecutors.
Antavious Bray, 31, of Greenville, Derrick Scott, 27, of Manchester, and D’Asis Sheffield, 21, of Greenville, each got sentences of at least 10 years in prison for their roles in the “takeover-style” robbery, U.S. Attorney BJay Pak said Tuesday in a news release.
The case is pending against a fourth man, Dontavious Prather, who prosecutors said drove the car to United Bank in Woodbury shortly after noon on June 28, 2018.
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Bray, Scott and Sheffield got out of the car wearing masks, Pak said. Bray was armed with a semi-automatic rifle, and Scott and Sheffield each had handguns.
Pak said Bray pointed his gun at two bank employees and ordered them to lie face down on the floor while Scott and Sheffield threatened a teller and forced their way into the bank vault.
The men filled backpacks with cash from the vault, Pak said. The trio then left through a back door.
When the men got outside, however, they realized their getaway driver had left them behind, Pak said. The men ran into a nearby wooded area, he said.
Hours later, FBI agents found Bray and Scott hiding in a nearby home they had broken into, Pak said.
Sheffield was arrested later after tipsters who had seen footage of the robbery on local news stations called investigators and reported seeing him. He was confirmed as the third gunman by DNA evidence.
Each of the three men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
Bray and Scott were each sentenced to 12 years and 10 months in prison, plus five years of supervised release, Pak said. Sheffield was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. All three were ordered to pay full restitution to the victims, Pak said.
Prather, 23, of Greenville, pleaded not guilty to charges in December.
"These defendants chose to rob a bank and in the process terrorized its employees," Pak said. "Thanks to a quick law enforcement response, they lost their getaway car and subsequently their freedom."
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