Tennessee Man Convicted Of Armed Bank Robbery Is Sentenced To Over 12 Years In Prison

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Paul Gordon Day, 37, of Brentwood, Tennessee, was sentenced today to 147 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for the armed robbery of a bank in Asheville, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in North Carolina and Chief Michael Lamb of the Asheville Police Department, join U.S. Attorney King in making today's announcement.

According to filed court documents and evidence presented at Day's trial, on November 9, 2022, at approximately 4:20 p.m., Day rode a bicycle to the PNC Bank branch

located at 8 O'Henry Avenue, in Asheville, which is across the street from the federal courthouse. Day parked the bicycle and entered the bank wearing a blue cap, sunglasses, a blue surgical mask, a grey sweatshirt, and gloves. Upon entering the bank, Day drew from his waistband a firearm wrapped in a black plastic bag secured to the barrel with rubber bands and approached the bank tellers. Day held up a firearm, ordered a customer who was in the bank to the ground, and demanded money from tellers. The tellers complied and gave Day the cash, including a GPS tracking device concealed within the money. Day then fled the scene on the bicycle.

Court documents show that law enforcement tracked the GPS device and determined it was located inside a vehicle traveling on Interstate 26 toward Weaverville, North Carolina. Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle and arrested Day, who was alone in the vehicle. Law enforcement searched the vehicle and recovered the firearm Day used during the robbery, the stolen cash and the GPS tracking device, the bicycle, and numerous articles of clothing worn by Day during the commission of the robbery.

On January 10, 2024, a federal jury found Day guilty of bank robbery using a dangerous weapon, and possessing and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Day remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today's announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI, the Asheville Police Department, and the Weaverville Police Department for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex M. Scott of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.