John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina, and Chief Kerr Putney of the
Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, join U.S. Attorney Murray in making
today’s announcement.
On May 30 2018, a federal jury convicted Caldwell of bank
robbery conspiracy, bank robbery, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a
crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Under federal sentencing law, Caldwell was
subject to an enhanced sentence as an Armed Career Criminal, based on prior
convictions. Caldwell’s criminal history
includes two previous federal convictions for bank robbery in 1997 and
attempted bank robbery in 2004. Caldwell
was also convicted in Union County of Assault with a Deadly Weapon Inflicting
Serious Injury with Intent to Kill in 1991.
According to filed court documents, trial evidence and the
sentencing hearing, Caldwell planned the bank robbery, recruited two teenagers
to rob the bank, and served as the getaway driver. Trial evidence established that on December
9, 2016, Caldwell’s co-conspirators entered a Wells Fargo Bank branch located
at 10210 Couloak Drive in Charlotte, armed with two firearms supplied by
Caldwell. As they approached the teller
area, the bank robbers pointed the firearms at the tellers behind the counter
and demanded money. The tellers
complied, and the bank robbers fled in a car driven by Caldwell with $5,791.60
in cash. Shortly after the robbery, law
enforcement located Caldwell hiding in a wooded area near a bag which contained
$5,614 and a GPS tracker from the bank.
They also located in close proximity the vehicle Caldwell was driving.
According to evidence presented at trial, Caldwell told law
enforcement that he had been carjacked while picking up a pizza, and claimed
that he had been forced at gunpoint by two males out of his vehicle and into
the back seat of the car. Witness
testimony and trial evidence established that, contrary to his claims, Caldwell
had not been carjacked. Also, over the
course of the investigation, law enforcement located in Caldwell’s vehicle the
two revolvers used to perpetrate the robbery.
Caldwell 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.
The FBI and CMPD
investigated the case. Assistant U.S.
Attorneys William Bozin and William Stetzer handled the prosecution.
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