A Virginia man was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison Tuesday for a 2016 bank robbery spree that included banks in Atlantic and Ocean cities.
Bruce Wayne Higgins, 43, of Herndon, Virginia, previously pleaded guilty in Camden Federal Court to robbing four banks in less than a week.
On Dec. 15, the TD Bank in Ocean City was robbed when the man gave a teller a note saying: “GUN IN Pocket, MONEY NOW or –BANG-.”
He was identified as Higgins.
The next day, a man fitting that same description walked into the TD Bank in Atlantic City. A worker there recognized Higgins from a bulletin sent to all employees, and triggered the "hold up" alarms. Higgins left without making contact with anyone, then got into a taxi.
https://breakingac.com/man-arrested-after-robbing-bank-in-atlantic-city-pleads-guilty/
An Atlantic City officer found the cab near the Wells Fargo Bank while the bank was being robbed.
He again gave a teller a note. This time it read: “Gun in Pocket, Money Now or Bang now.”
Higgins fled with some money, and was arrested by Atlantic City police.
Higgins admitted to robbing two banks and a business in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as the two New Jersey banks.
Higgins was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison Tuesday. He also will have three years of supervised release and must pay restitution of $23,390.
The investigation was a joint effort involving the FBI, Ocean City and Atlantic City police, the Cape May County and Atlantic County prosecutor's offices, and Baltimore County and Fairfax County police.
Lynda Cohen founded BreakingAC after working as a local newspaper reporter for more than two decades. She is an NJPA award-winner and was a Stories of Atlantic City fellow.
