RALEIGH — Three men who kept law enforcement occupied for several days after the robbery of the PNC Bank in Lumberton in January 2018 have been sentenced to federal prison, including one who received life.
A fourth person has yet to be sentenced.
Daquan Madrid Pridgen, 27, of Memory Twin Circle in Whiteville, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison plus an additional 10 years behind bars by Chief United States District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Jeramie Ross Vaughn, also known as “Vido,” 30, of Bitmore Road in Parkton, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Rashad Devonte Young, also known as “Rep,” 28, of 421 W. Lewis St. in Whiteville, also was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
The three were ordered to pay a total of $40,302 in restitution.
All three are jointly and separately liable, said Leslie Wooten, assistant to the U.S. attorney. That means that each will be responsible for a portion of the money, but the amount each will have to pay has not yet been determined.
“In sentencing these defendants …, the court recognized that these defendants went to terrorize the community, staged a ‘surprise attack on the police,’ ‘used occupied school buses as a shield to attack law enforcement and then claimed sanctuary from return fire,’” said Robert J. Higdon Jr., the United States attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
“In other words, these offenders jeopardized the safety and security of law enforcement and of members of the community in an incredibly dangerous and premeditated attack,” he said. “And we are gratified by the court’s sentences as these terms of imprisonment remove dangerous offenders from the community permanently. We are proud to stand with law enforcement who heroically faced these criminals down.”
Pridgen was convicted on May 30 of armed bank robbery, and aiding and abetting, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. On April 18, Vaughn and Young pleaded guilty to those offenses. A fourth man, Demetris Sean Robinson, also known as “Bo Bo,” of Golf Course Road in Whiteville, was convicted of the same offenses after a jury trial on May 1. Robinson’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 27.
The evidence presented at the trials showed that sometime in late 2017 the four men began planning to rob a bank and gathered masks to wear and several firearms, including a rifle, shotgun, and two handguns, for use in the robbery, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice. They also bought a vehicle as a getaway car.
On Jan. 23, 2018, the four men traveled to Lumberton and robbed the PNC Bank, located at 700 N. Chestnut St. Robinson, Pridgen, and Young each displayed firearms and ordered the tellers to hand over money. A bank employee was ordered to the bank vault where more money was stolen. After the 10-minute robbery, the four men fled the bank with more than $40,000 in cash.
The robbery, which took place about 3:37 p.m., led to a high-speed chase that began in Lumberton and ended in Columbus County, where the robbers’ gray Saturn crashed near a bridge on Silver Spoon Road.
During the chase, the defendants drove through residential areas at speeds in excess of 90 mph. Robinson also fired at officers during the pursuit. Several law enforcement vehicles were struck, but no law enforcement officers were injured.
Robinson, Pridgen, and Vaughn abandoned the vehicle on the side of the road in Columbus County and fled on foot into the woods. Young had abandoned the vehicle earlier and fled on foot. All four eventually were caught and charged.
“They recovered a portion of the (stolen) money in a crate near the abandoned vehicle,” Wooten said. “There was a portion that was never recovered.”
Two helicopters, one each from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office and the state Highway Patrol, circled overhead as deputies from Robeson, Brunswick, Bladen and Columbus counties, the Lumberton Police Department’s SWAT team and canine units searched the area.
Fayetteville police brought in drones to assist with the investigation, Capt. Terry Parker, of the Lumberton Police Department, said during the search. More than 150 local, state and federal law enforcement personnel were involved in the manhunt, which lasted several days.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Lumberton Police Department, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant United States attorneys Erin C. Blondel and Robert J. Dodson prosecuted the case for the government.
