Previously Convicted Bank Robber Sentenced To 14 Years For Committing Three New Bank Robberies

Press Release

At the Time of the Robberies the Defendant Was in a Residential Reentry Program Serving the Remainder of His Federal Sentence for a Previous Federal Bank Robbery Conviction

Baltimore,Maryland - U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced Kevin Maurice Lawson, age 55, of Baltimore Maryland, to 14 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for committing three-armed bank robberies. Lawson committed all three robberies while he was in a residential reentry program serving the remainder of his federal sentence for a 2004 conviction for armed bank robbery.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Richard Worley of the Baltimore Police Department ("BPD").

According to his plea agreement, Lawson committed three-armed bank robberies in Baltimore between June 6 and July 18, 2022, utilizing a black air gun in each robbery. In the first robbery on June 6, 2022, Lawson robbed a bank in the 100 block of East Baltimore Street in Baltimore. As he did in each of the robberies, Lawson entered the bank wearing a surgical mask and gloves. He approached a bank employee seated at a desk on the banking floor, displayed what appeared to be a dark semiautomatic handgun in his waistband, and ordered the employee to the teller line. Lawson held the employee against the teller glass and demanded money from the victim teller, who passed cash to Lawson. Lawson took the money and fled the bank on foot.

As further detailed in his plea agreement, on June 27, 2022, Lawson robbed a bank in the 5400 block of Harford Road in Baltimore. Lawson approached two bank employees seated at desks on the banking floor, displayed the handgun in his waistband, and ordered the employees to the teller line. Lawson ordered the first bank employee to demand cash from the victim teller who then passed cash to the first employee. Lawson again took the money and fled on foot.

In the third instance, on July 18, 2022, Lawson robbed a bank in the 3200 block of West North Avenue in Baltimore. Lawson ambushed a security guard, and repeatedly struck her on her head with his weapon as he ordered bank employees to provide him with cash. Throughout the course of the assault of the security guard, Lawson attempted to disarm her. Bank employees behind the teller line, fearing for the safety of the security guard and their own safety, passed cash through the teller line barrier glass to Lawson. When Lawson went to the counter to get the money, the security guard fired rounds from her duty weapon at Lawson before the weapon jammed. Lawson was not hit and fled the scene in a gray Kia. BPD patrol units eventually located the vehicle after it crashed into the exterior wall of a vacant rowhome.

A search of the Kia yielded clothing and gloves identical to that worn in the bank robberies, as well as documents linked to Lawson, including a Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate identification card. Lawson was arrested on July 22, 2022. Further investigation revealed that in 2003, Lawson had robbed banks on West North Avenue and Harford Road.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI and BPD for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorney Michael Aubin, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Updated August 20, 2024