Man Sentenced to 22 Years, Multiple Armed Bank Robberies

WNC -- August 7, 2023:Western District of North Carolina, announced Monday that a Georgia man was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Johnny Jermaine Davis, 40, of Kennesaw, Georgia, was convicted of repeated armed bank robberies in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. He was also sentenced to five years of probation after completing his jail sentence and forced to pay more than $65,000 in reparations.

U.S. Attorney King is joined in delivering the statement by Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina.

Davis pleaded guilty to six counts of bank robbery and one count of brandishing a pistol in furtherance of a violent crime on September 1, 2022. Davis was charged with bank robbery in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the Middle District of North Carolina, the Eastern District of Tennessee, the Middle District of Tennessee, and the Northern District of Georgia, in addition to the Western District of North Carolina. Those federal cases were later assigned to the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina for combined prosecution.

Davis robbed seven banks in three states, including two in Asheville, N.C., between January and May 2021, according to court filings and proceedings. Davis flashed a pistol during each of these robberies and discharged a firearm during one of them.

The following information is from the August 7, 2023 Press Release U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of North Carolina

The Bank Robbery in East Ridge, Tennessee

Court records show that on January 6, 2021, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Davis robbed a Regions Bank in East Ridge, Tennessee. After he entered the bank, Davis approached the bank teller and asked to cash a check. Davis then drew a firearm and vaulted over the counter. Davis demanded money from the bank tellers and discharged the firearm, which caused a window to shatter. Davis then took money from the teller drawers and fled the scene.

The First Bank Robbery in Asheville, North Carolina

On February 25, 2021, at approximately 3:02 p.m., Davis entered the BB&T bank located at 1653 Hendersonville Road, in Asheville. Davis was wearing a blue and white baseball cap, sunglasses, and a surgical mask. Davis walked toward the teller area of the bank and pretended to cash a check. Court documents show that Davis put on a black glove and pulled out a semi-automatic handgun, pointed the firearm at a teller and yelled, “Don’t move.” Davis then jumped over the counter, ordered the bank employees to lay on the ground, and began to grab cash from the teller drawers. Davis also told the bank employees he had planted a device that would release toxic gas if they moved before two minutes passed. Davis finished emptying the cash drawers and exited the bank.

The Bank Robbery in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

On April 3, 2021, at approximately 12:40 p.m., Davis robbed a PNC bank located at 841 Willow Drive, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. According to court records, Davis entered the bank wearing a UNC baseball cap, a mask, sunglasses, and surgical gloves. He approached a teller and, as with previous bank robberies, he inquired about cashing a check. After he was told he needed two forms of identification, Davis left the bank. He returned soon thereafter and jumped over the counter while brandishing a semiautomatic pistol. Davis then ordered two tellers to step away from the counter and lie face-down on the floor. He then ordered one of the tellers to unlock the drawers. The teller complied, and Davis ordered her back to the floor. Davis took cash from the teller drawers and fled the scene.

The Bank Robbery in Spring Hill, Tennessee

On April 9, 2021, at approximately 12:06 p.m., Davis entered the First Citizens National Bank located at 2035 Wall Street in Spring Hill, Tennessee, wearing a UNC baseball cap, a surgical mask, sunglasses, and blue surgical gloves. Once again, Davis approached the teller and asked for a pen so that he could cash a check. Davis then drew a semiautomatic pistol, grabbed a teller by the wrist, and pointed the gun directly at her. Davis then ordered all the tellers to lie down on the floor and demanded money. A bank teller opened the bank vault and Davis took cash. Davis then moved two bank employees into a utility room and closed the door, before exiting the bank.

The Bank Robbery in Fayetteville, North Carolina

On May 8, 2021, at approximately 12:08 p.m., Davis entered the First Horizon Bank at 929 S. McPherson Church Road, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, wearing a baseball hat, sunglasses, black gloves, and a mask. Upon entering the bank, Davis approached a teller and asked him if he could cash a Wells Fargo check. The teller said that he could not and began to search for nearby Wells Fargo bank locations in an effort to assist. According to court documents, Davis then drew a black semiautomatic pistol and whispered to the teller that he did not want to hurt anyone. Davis ordered the teller to move behind the teller stations, and then pointed the gun at another teller and ordered them both to lie down on the floor. Davis demanded access to a cash machine, then the safe, and then the vault; but each time the tellers explained that they did not have ready access to any of those storage areas. Davis moved the two tellers at gunpoint to a nearby room and ordered them to stay put. Davis then found a bank employee working in another office, pointed the gun at her, and demanded to know how to access the safe. When the employee told Davis she did not know, he moved the bank employee into the room with the other tellers. Davis took cash from a desk drawer before he left the bank.

The Second Bank Robbery in Asheville, North Carolina

On May 20, 2021, at approximately 4:42 p.m., Davis entered the Wells Fargo bank located at 800 Merrimon Ave., in Asheville. According to court records, Davis was wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a surgical mask. As in previous bank robberies, Davis walked to the counter and told the teller he wanted to cash a check. When the teller asked for identification, Davis left the bank purportedly to retrieve his ID. Davis returned a short time later, approached the counter, and drew a semi- automatic handgun and pointed it at the teller. Davis then jumped over the counter and told all four bank employees to get down on the ground. Once all four bank employees were on the floor, Davis emptied the cash drawers, slammed the counter, and ordered the employees not to move for two minutes because he had placed a motion sensor. Davis then fled the scene.

The Bank Robbery in Rome, Georgia

According to court documents, on May 28, 2021, at approximately 10:50 a.m., Davis entered the SunTrust (now Truist) bank located at 2401 Shorter Avenue, in Rome, Georgia, wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask. After he entered the bank, Davis approached a teller and inquired about opening an account but then left the bank. At approximately 11:21 a.m., Davis re-entered the bank, walked into an occupied office, and at gunpoint walked the bank employee out of the office and toward the teller counter. Davis then ordered the tellers to lie down on the floor and vaulted over behind the counter while brandishing the firearm. Another bank employee entered the room and Davis pointed the gun at her and ordered her to get on the floor before he took cash from the bank and fled the scene.

On June 9, 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant at Davis’s home in Georgia. Davis was arrested at the scene. FBI agents also seized several items of clothing consistent with items depicted in surveillance footage at the various robberies, including shoes, a hat, pants, and a jacket. FBI agents also found a firearm that was consistent with the firearm Davis used during

the robberies.

Davis is currently in federal custody. He 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 commended the FBI in Asheville, the Asheville Police Department, and the Hendersonville Police Department for their investigation of the case in Western North Carolina and thanked the FBI field offices and local law enforcement agencies in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia for their invaluable assistance.

U.S. Attorney King also thanked the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the Middle and Eastern Districts of North Carolina, the Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee, and the Northern District of Georgia for their coordination and cooperation throughout Davis’s prosecution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gast of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

WNcTimes