Baltimore Bank Robber Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison for Firearm and Armed Bank Robbery Charges

 Brandished a Gun in Two Armed Bank Robberies

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow today sentenced David Gollahon, age 59, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 13 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for the federal charges of armed bank robbery and brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD).

According the his plea agreement, on January 23, 2019 and February 1, 2019, David Gollahon and his co-defendant, Richard Tingler, committed two armed bank robberies in Baltimore, with co-defendant Richard Adams serving as the getaway driver in each robbery.  During each of the robberies, Gollahon and Tingler brandished firearms and threatened victim bank employees.  

Specifically, on January 23, 2019, Adams drove Gollahon and Tingler in a gray Hyundai Accent car that he had rented two weeks earlier, to a bank located in the 3600 block of Boston Street in Baltimore.  Gollahon carried a loaded black .380-caliber firearm and Tingler carried a loaded black .45-caliber firearm and both men wore ski masks to disguise their identities.  Tingler also carried a black leather duffel bag.

After entering the bank, Tingler approached the victim teller, pointed his firearm at her and demanded $100 dollar bills and “loose bills” from the bottom drawer of the till.  Meanwhile, Gollahon held the other bank employees and customers at gunpoint in the lobby area of the bank.  He told the bank employees and customers, “don’t move.”  Tingler took more than $7,000 in cash from the victim teller.  Tingler and Gollahon then ran away, accidentally dropping $5,584 in cash as they ran through a parking lot.  They then got into the waiting gray Hyundai Accent car driven by Adams, and drove away

On February 1, 2019, Adams drove Tingler and Gollahon in a 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo, which was registered to Adams, to a bank located in the 2900 block of O’Donnell Street in Baltimore.  Tingler and Gollahon each had the same firearm they had used in connection with the January 23, 2019 bank robbery, and their faces were covered.  After entering the bank, Tingler and Gollahon approached the teller window.  Tingler pointed his firearm at the teller and demanded $100 bills.  The victim teller handed over cash from the till, but Tingler continued to demand more money.  At the same time, Gollahon approached the teller line with his firearm pointed in the direction of the tellers and bank customers.  In response to the demands for more cash, the victim teller and a co-worker went to the bank’s vault and removed more cash, which they provided to Tingler and Gollahon, along with a GPS tracker, which was activated. 

Tingler and Gollahon then fled the bank and got into the 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo driven by Adams, who was waiting for them.  Adams drove the Monte Carlo away from the bank.  Law enforcement received GPS information concerning the location of the GPS tracker taken from the bank, which they relayed to Baltimore Police Department (BPD).

BPD officers stopped the vehicle and, when the vehicle was stopped, the GPS tracker became stationary.  Adams, Tingler, and Gollahon were ordered out of the vehicle and arrested.  At the time of his arrest, Gollahon had the same firearm he used during the robbery on his person.  All were transported to the BPD Citywide Robbery Office. 

Law enforcement searched Adams’ 2006 Monte Carlo car and located in the vehicles’ front floor board was a blue backpack containing the cash taken in the robbery, the GPS tracker, and the .45-caliber firearm carried by Tingler during both bank robberies. 

Later that day, law enforcement searched Adams’ residence in Essex, Maryland and seized Gollahon’s gray hooded sweatshirt and the black leather duffel bag carried by Tingler during the January 23, 2019 robbery. 

Richard Tingler, age 56, of Baltimore and Richard Adams, age 60, of Essex, Maryland both pleaded guilty to their roles in the bank robberies.  Adams was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison on November 12, 2020.  Tingler is expected to be sentenced to up to 18 years in federal prison as his sentencing on January 19, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Chasanow.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Daniel A. Loveland, Jr., who are prosecuting the case.