Maryland Man Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Acting as an Accessory in September 2008 Bank Robbery

Defendant Served as Getaway Driver

WASHINGTON—Edward Weary, 44, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for acting as an accessory after a bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Weary, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, pled guilty to the charge in August 2011 and was sentenced today by the Honorable John D. Bates in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Upon completion of his prison term, Weary will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $64,080 in restitution.

According to a factual proffer of evidence presented at the time of the guilty plea, on the morning of September 18, 2008, Weary met Derrick Benson and an accomplice in Southeast Washington and agreed to serve as the driver in a bank robbery. Weary then drove Benson and the accomplice to a PNC Bank in the 600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE.

Weary parked his car on a street behind the bank and waited as Benson and the accomplice went into the bank. Benson stood as the lookout at the front of the bank as the accomplice approached a bank employee and handed over a note demanding money. Benson and the other individual stole $64,080 from the bank before returning to Weary’s waiting vehicle. Weary then drove Benson and the accomplice from the scene. Later that day, Weary received some of the proceeds from the bank robbery. Benson, now 34, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced in March 2011 to more than eight years in prison for his role in this and other offenses.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director McJunkin, and Chief Lanier commended the investigative work of the special agents from the FBI’s Washington Field Office who worked on the case, as well as MPD Detective Elmer Baylor, and the entire joint FBI/MPD Violent Crimes Task Force. They also praised the work of the FBI Physical Scientist/Forensic Examiner who assisted in the investigation. Lastly, they praised the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys David B. Kent and Frederick W. Yette, who are prosecuting this matter.