Charlotte Man Sentenced To 21 Years On Bank Robbery Charges

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Tuesday, May 22, 2018, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. sentenced Ronald McKnight, 34, of Charlotte to 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release on bank robbery charges, announced R. Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. McKnight was also sentenced to one additional year in prison for violating his supervised release on prior robbery convictions.  Judge Conrad also ordered McKnight to pay $3,425.98 as restitution to victims.

U.S. Attorney Murray is joined in making today’s announcement by John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).

According to filed court documents and the sentencing hearing, on January 5, 2015, McKnight entered the Fifth Third Bank branch located at 212 South Tryon Street, in Charlotte.  Court records show that McKnight presented a note to the bank teller that read, “Robbery 100 50 20 No Die packs.”  The teller handed McKnight over $1,732 in cash and McKnight left the bank.  On January 9, 2015, McKnight entered the Wells Fargo Bank branch located at 2910 South Boulevard, in Charlotte.  McKnight again handed the teller a note that instructed the teller to give McKnight cash in denominations of $100, $50, and $20, and not to include a dye pack.  According to court records, the teller complied with McKnight’s demands, handed him more than $1,660 in cash, and McKnight fled the location.  Court records indicate that law enforcement arrested McKnight later the same day.

A federal jury convicted McKnight of bank robbery in June 2017.  He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.  All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the FBI and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Kaufman, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.