WASHINGTON D.C. – The FBI is working with other law enforcement officers through the Violent Crimes Task Forces to crack down on the increase of bank robberies in Washington D.c. and Northern Virginia during the holiday season, officials announced Wednesday.
For the past two years, a quarter of all bank robberies in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia have taken place in the month of December, authorities said.
Additional analysis shows that the number of bank robberies committed in these two areas tripled during this one month of the holiday season, officials said.
Law enforcement is sharing information with banks and the public to create heightened awareness and warn people who may be inclined to rob or attempt to rob banks of law enforcement’s increased focus, authorities said.
In December 2013, there were 17 bank robberies committed in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. Of those robberies, 13 have been solved. The majority of bank robberies committed during this time frame involved “crews” of robbers who hit more than once or were committed by lone serial robbers, officials said.
Between October and December 2013, a crew of three men, authorities said James McNeal, Alphonso Stoddard, and James Link, committed a series of four armed bank robberies in Maryland and Northern Virginia.
The men were arrested immediately after robbing a bank in Arlington, Virginia, on December 31, 2013.
On September 19, 2014, Link was sentenced to serve 35 years in prison, and on November 7, 2014, McNeal was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Stoddard received three concurrent life sentences in prison due to prior convictions for armed bank robberies, according to authorities.
The Violent Crimes Task Forces are working with personnel from financial institutions to prevent a rise in bank robberies through educational sessions for tellers and meeting with bank security personnel about common tactics employed by bank robbers during the last five years, say officials.
The FBI will support local law enforcement with enhanced patrols of regional banks.