GEORGETOWN,
SC (WMBF) – The man suspected of robbing 14 different banks while wearing the
same hat has pleaded guilty to those crimes.
That
man, 42-year-old Wesley Todd McCracken, entered a guilty plea in connection to
the 14 bank robberies in six different states, including banking institutions
in Myrtle Beach and Florence.
McCracken
will be sentenced at a later date. US States Attorney Bill Nettles says he
could be sentenced to 20 years for each offense or a fine of $250,000.
A
former City of Georgetown police officer and an off-duty SLED agent were
credited with stopping the serial bank robber as he attempted to flee from the
South Carolina Bank and Trust in Georgetown in December 2011.
Former investigator Ricky Floyd
and Agent Rhett Holden were running errands in Floyd's truck that afternoon
when Floyd said they witnessed a man sprinting away from the bank and heading
towards a nearby Ryan's parking lot.
"I saw the dye pack
explode and I said ‘Rhett! He just robbed a bank!'"
Floyd used a back road to loop
back to the Ryan's parking lot and confront McCracken. He pounded on the window
of McCracken's car, attempting to break the glass, while Agent Holden
approached from the other side with his gun drawn.
"If it hadn't have been
for Rhett, I don't know what would have happened," Floyd said. "But
I'm glad I had my buddy with me and thank God he had his gun on him."
Little did Floyd and Holden
know, but the man they had helped subdue was actually a suspected serial bank
robber. McCracken is wanted in connection with bank robberies in seven other
states, each one featuring a suspect sporting a Nike baseball cap.
Floyd left the Georgetown
Police force in late October 2011 due to medical reasons. He said he acted without
a moment's hesitation, but after the dust settled the gravity of the situation
kicked in.
"Once everything calmed
down, you realize ‘Whoa, my body isn't ready for that yet.' But everything
turned out well."
Copyright 2012 WMBF News.
All rights reserved.
McCracken is wanted in connection with bank robberies in seven other states, each one featuring a suspect sporting a Nike baseball cap. (Source: Georgetown County Sheriff's Office)
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