Jury Finds Defendant Guilty in Staged Armored Truck Robbery of $1.9 Million
Charleston SC April 1 2023 Terry Tyrone Pollard, 27, of Cedartown, Georgia, was convicted following a jury trial in federal court for conspiracy to commit bank larceny and bank larceny. The convictions arose from a January 2021 incident during which Pollard and his four co-defendants staged an armed robbery of a Garda armored cash transport truck carrying $1.9 million in North Charleston, South Carolina. Pollard’s codefendants—Quantavius Murphy, 22, Anthony Burge, 24, and Thomas Calhoun, 21, all of Cedartown, Georgia, and James Sewell, 27, of North Charleston—all previously pleaded guilty to the charges.
Evidence presented by the Government at trial established that in early January 2021, Sewell, a Garda armored truck driver, recruited Pollard and the other codefendants to stage his robbery. After formulating the plan over Snapchat, Pollard, Murphy, Burge, and Calhoun traveled from Cedartown to Sewell’s apartment in North Charleston on January 15, 2021. Later that day, they drove around North Charleston looking for the best location to stage the theft. On January 16, 2021, Sewell parked his truck full of money outside an ATM in North Charleston. Pollard and the other codefendants approached Sewell and pretended to restrain him at gunpoint. They then loaded $1.9 million in cash into black trash bags and immediately fled back to Cedartown.
Investigators were able to determine the codefendants’ cell phone numbers and obtain cell site location data from service providers. The cell site location data confirmed the codefendants’ path of travel from Cedartown in the early morning hours of January 15, their location in the vicinity of Sewell’s apartment the day before the theft, and their joint path of travel back to Cedartown following the theft on January 16. Evidence presented to the jury revealed that several hours after the bank larceny, Calhoun posted a Snapchat video of Pollard holding a large stack of stolen cash in front of his face.
The jury deliberated for eight minutes before returning a guilty verdict against Pollard on both counts of the indictment.
“Prosecuting violent crime is one of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s top priority,” said United States Attorney Adair F. Boroughs. “We appreciate the work of the FBI, North Charleston Police Department, and Cedartown Police Department in this case and their commitment to holding these defendants accountable.”
“The FBI is committed to thoroughly investigating violent crime, to include armored car robberies, and pursuing all who perpetrate those offenses,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Columbia field office, Paul “Reid” Davis. “This conviction sends a strong message that our office, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will not waver in the pursuit of justice.”
Representatives from the North Charleston Police Department stated that they are pleased that a jury held Pollard responsible for traveling from out of state to commit a serious crime in North Charleston and are thankful for the assistance from and collaboration with the USAO and the FBI.
United States District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks presided over the trial and will sentence Pollard and his codefendants after receiving and reviewing pre-sentence reports prepared by the United States Probation Office. Pollard faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, and a fine of $500,000 in addition to restitution for money stolen during the incident.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the North Charleston Police Department, and the Cedartown Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Chris Lietzow, Emily Limehouse, and Allessandra Stewart prosecuted the case.
