Rockville Man Sentenced To Prison For Armed Bank Robbery

ROCKVILLE, MD — A 28-year-old Rockville man was sentenced on Monday to federal prison for the armed robbery of a Derwood bank, according to prosecutors.

Jerail Melik Netcliff faces 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for stealing $10,000 from the bank and violating his supervised release from a previous federal conviction. In that case, which dates back to 2017, Netcliff was sentenced to prison for firearm possession related to a drug trafficking crime, officials said.

According to his plea agreement, Netcliff walked into a Derwood bank in January of 2019, pointed a black handgun at a teller and other customers, and demanded $10,000 with no bait money. He fled the scene with $10,000 in cash.

Responding law enforcement officers tracked footprints behind the bank, which helped them find surveillance video from a resident. According to officials, Netcliff could be seen entering a white U-Haul van. There was artwork in the rear driver's side of the vehicle.

"U-Haul confirmed to law enforcement that the artwork on the van was specific to only one van in their inventory, which was rented to Netcliff on January 24, 2019 in Rockville," said the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland. "Video surveillance of the U-Haul transaction revealed that Netcliff was wearing the same clothing he wore to rob the bank later that day."

On Jan. 25, Netcliff was arrested at his place of employment in Bethesda.

"Search warrants were executed at Netcliff's residence and on a backpack seized at his place of employment when he was arrested," according to the Justice Department. "Law enforcement located a U-Haul rental agreement and a replica black handgun at Netcliff's home and recovered $2,770 in cash, Netcliff's Maryland driver's license, and gloves consistent with those worn by the robber in the bank surveillance video."