Ky. man pleads guilty to federal charges after taking nearly $40K in armed robberies
A Mount Sterling man has pleaded guilty in federal court to armed robbery after he held up a bank and a check-cashing shop and took off with nearly $40,000 in cash.
Larry A. Crump, 37, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery, bank robbery, using a gun in furtherance of a violent crime and possessing a gun as a convicted felon. Crump entered his guilty plea late last week in front of Chief Judge Danny C. Reeves in U.S. District Court in Lexington.
Crump admitted in his plea agreement that he went into Check N Cash in Mount Sterling Nov. 16 and threatened an employee with a gun while demanding money. He told the employee not to hit any alarms or call anyone. He got about $900 in cash and took off.
Surveillance video from a church near the check-cashing business captured Crump getting in and out of a four-door car behind the business before and after the robbery, according to court records.
The same four-door car was spotted when Crump robbed Peoples Bank in Mount Sterling on Nov. 20, according to court records. Crump pulled out a pistol and demanded money from the bank clerk. He took off with about $37,000 in cash.
Mount Sterling police posted surveillance photos from both robberies on its Facebook page. They offered a cash reward for people who could provide tips leading to an arrest.
“Several witnesses identified the defendant from the FB photos that were posted,” Crump’s plea agreement stated.
Law enforcement found Crump a few days later at a local Walmart and arrested him. Investigators revisited the Walmart after a Kimber .380 handgun was found in a storage area. The handgun matched the gun that investigators saw on surveillance footage from the robberies, according to court records.
Investigators confirmed the gun was stolen from Clay City. Crump was on probation at the time of the robberies, according to prosecutors.
Crump faces a minimum of seven years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, according to prosecutors. A federal judge will determine his sentence after considering sentencing guidelines and recommendations. He will be sentenced on Jan. 21 at 2 p.m., according to court records.
Investigators determined through jail phone calls and interviews with Crump’s family members that he took some of the money from the Peoples Bank robbery and stashed it at Garry Crump’s home. Investigators found $25,500 at the home.
Garry Crump was also indicted in the case and has pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and making false statements to an FBI agent.
Court records didn’t indicate how the Crumps were related.
In addition to Mount Sterling police, the investigation involved several agencies, including the FBI, ATF, U.S. Marshals and the Bath County sheriff’s office.
