'Beltway Bank Bandit' Receives 21-Year Prison Sentence

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Freddie Lee McRae, 35, of Washington, D.C. was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 21 years in prison for a series of armed robberies at multiple banks and a retail store in Northern Virginia in 2018 and 2019, according to a U.S. Justice Department release. The FBI investigated the case as part of its "Beltway Bank Bandit" series.

McRae's robbery spree began on Nov. 13, 2018, when he robbed a Wells Fargo bank location in Alexandria, according to court documents. Police say McRae handed a teller a note, demanding cash. He implied that he had a firearm and threatened to “[k]ill [a]ll [b]ankers," if the teller failed to comply. After pointing a firearm at two tellers, McRae fled the bank with approximately $8,750.

On Dec. 10, 2018, McRae committed an armed robbery at a Burke & Herbert bank in Alexandria, according to court documents. He fled the scene with $1,366 in cash.

“This case involved a chilling armed robbery spree during which innocent community members were threatened with serious injury or death if they did not comply with repeated demands for money,” said Raj Parekh, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, in a release. “We are thankful to our law enforcement partners for their thorough investigation across multiple jurisdictions to bring the defendant to justice, including apprehending him after he jumped out of a moving vehicle prior to it crashing and sinking into the Potomac River.”

On April 21, 2019, McRae robbed the Legend Kicks & Apparel Store in Arlington. After taking approximately $2,160 in cash from the store, he fled the scene on foot and left the area in a vehicle.

A short time later, a police officer tried to stop the vehicle on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which led to a pursuit on the parkway. Eventually, McRae jumped out of the moving vehicle before it crashed into the river and sank. Police were able to pull him out of the river before placing him under arrest, according to court documents.

McRae submitted a guilty plea and admitted that he had also committed robberies at the following locations:

• Bank of America branch in Springfield (Oct. 27, 2018)
• BB&T branch in Alexandria (Dec. 20, 2018)
• Capital One branch in Bowie, Maryland (Jan. 2, 2019)

McRae also confessed to trying to rob a Capital One branch located in Arlington on Feb. 11, 2019, and to obstructing justice after he was apprehended.

Several law enforcement agencies investigated this case, including FBI Washington Field Office’s Northern Virginia Violent Crime Safe Streets Task Force, Arlington County Police, and Fairfax County Police.