Christopher Antonio Gilmore, 34, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after being convicted of armed bank robbery in Raleigh, North Carolina. According to court documents and evidence presented during sentencing, Gilmore entered a First Citizen’s Bank in Raleigh wearing sunglasses and a mask while carrying a loaded firearm. Upon entering the bank, he fired a shot that struck a cabinet near the bank manager's office. The manager was inside the office at the time but was unharmed as the cabinet stopped the bullet.
Gilmore then pointed his weapon at two tellers and demanded they fill his backpack with cash. The tellers complied, placing over $20,000 and a GPS tracker into the bag. He ordered all employees to lie down behind the counter and threatened further violence if they did not comply. He also directed the manager to join the others on the floor. Unbeknownst to Gilmore, another employee was hiding in the breakroom and called 911.
Raleigh Police Department officers apprehended Gilmore minutes later at a nearby tire shop. At the time of arrest, officers recovered the stolen firearm used in the robbery, cash-filled backpack, and a high-capacity magazine.
Gilmore has an extensive criminal record spanning ten years with prior convictions including attempted identity theft in 2015; breaking and entering and larceny in 2019; as well as assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, discharging a weapon into an occupied property, and possession of a firearm by a felon in 2023.
Reid Davis, FBI Special Agent in Charge for North Carolina, stated: "The violent nature of Mr. Gilmore's actions are reprehensible. To barge into a bank where people are conducting business or accessing their own hard-earned money and endanger their lives is ruthless, reckless, and justifies a long federal prison sentence."
The case was announced by Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. It was prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Aubart along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Dixon and Jaren Kelly. The investigation involved both the FBI’s Raleigh Durham Safe Streets Task Force and Raleigh Police Department.
