A Charlotte man, Michael Malik Pringle, Jr., has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the armed robbery of a Wells Fargo bank. The sentencing was announced by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Pringle, 32, will also serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. He pleaded guilty on June 4, 2025, to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and aiding and abetting.
Reid Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina; Chief Estella D. Patterson of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department; and Chief Michael Hudgins of the Pineville Police Department joined U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making the announcement.
According to court documents and statements made during today’s hearing, Pringle picked up a 16-year-old minor on May 2, 2024, using a rented vehicle. The two had previously agreed to rob a bank that day. After an unsuccessful attempt at one location, they went to a Wells Fargo branch at 9420 Pineville-Matthews Road. Pringle provided the minor with a firearm and a black bag and instructed him to demand $20,000 from bank employees.
Court records indicate that the minor entered the bank wearing a hoodie and face mask while Pringle waited outside in the car. Inside the bank, "the minor told a bank employee that he needed to make a withdrawal. Then the minor pulled out the gun and the bag and told the employee to 'put $20,000 in this bag right now.' One of the tellers filled the bag with approximately $18,333." The minor then fled back to Pringle’s waiting vehicle.
After leaving the scene, law enforcement officers located their vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. Both Pringle and the minor were arrested at that time. Officers found a loaded Glock 43 handgun with an extended magazine inside a pocket on the driver’s door as well as cash from the robbery scattered throughout the back passenger area.
Pringle is currently held in federal custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility once designated.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson expressed gratitude for "the FBI, CMPD, and the Pineville Police Department for their investigation of the case."
The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Washington from Charlotte.
