Bank Manager Sent to Prison for Planning Armored Truck Robbery

The manager of a Bank of America in Hyattsville will spend eight years in prison for planning an armored car robbery.

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Valentina Elebesunu, 50, of Temple Hills, to 105 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to commit, and committing, an armed robbery of an armored truck. The judge also ordered her to pay restitution of $272,956, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Maryland.

Elebesunu was the branch manager at Bank of America, 3413 Kenilworth Ave., in Hyattsville. According to testimony from the trial, Elebesunu conspired with Damione Lewis – a security guard at the bank, Delacey Brown, Taurian Miller, Adriane Baldwin and Barrington Turner -- to rob an armored truck that served the bank branch. Elebesunu gave Lewis with inside information about the amount of money scheduled to be picked up by the armored truck. Lewis then shared that information to the other co-conspirators.

On Nov. 21, 2012, an armored car employee picked up $272,956.17 from the bank as Elebesunu and Lewis worked their respective jobs inside the bank that day. Their co-conspirators were in vans outside the bank. As the employee was taking the money from the bank to the armored truck, the co-conspirators pointed firearms at the employee, took the money bags to their vans and drove away. The robbery proceeds were later divided between Elebesunu and her co-conspirators.

Damione Lewis, 36, of New Carrolton; Delacey Kinte Brown, 38, of Landover; and Taurian Devon Miller, 31, and Adrian Baldwin, 29, both of Washington, D.C.; and Barrington Turner, 35, of Forestville; have all pleaded guilty to their roles in the robbery.

Lewis is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 2. The remaining four defendants were sentenced to between 51 and 96 months in prison.