SHARE

Feds: Halfway House Runaway Gets 6½ Years For Eastern PA Bank Robbery Spree

A 53-year-old man who was on parole when he ran away from a halfway house was sentenced to 78 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $6,700 in restitution for a spree of bank robberies in Southeaster Pennsylvania last year, federal authorities said.

Michael Edmondson

Michael Edmondson

Photo Credit: Bensalem PD

Michael Edmondson in September 2019 pleaded guilty to a four-count indictment charging him with robbing four banks in Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, and Philadelphia counties, First Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said.

The charges arose from Edmondson’s early 2019 crime spree, targeting the Wells Fargo Bank in Trevose on Feb. 19; the Citizens Bank in Havertown’s Giant Foods on Feb. 24; the Wells Fargo Bank in King of Prussia on Feb. 27; and the Santander Bank on Market Street in Philadelphia on March 6, Williams said.

Edmondson stole a total of $7,958 from the four banks, just after absconding from a halfway house where he was living while on state parole, Williams said. 

In all four cases, Edmondson threatened to shoot himself and other people if the bank employees did not hand him cash.

“The defendant, now in his fifties, has a decades-long history of run-ins with the law,” Williams said. 

“The simple fact is that Edmondson is a danger to the community. He has proven that, when given the opportunity, he will revert to threatening the safety of others and himself. The streets of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties are safer with the defendant behind bars once again.”

“At each stop on Michael Edmondson’s bank robbery spree, he told tellers he had a gun and was about to start shooting,” said Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. 

“Taking those who terrorize the community off the street is a priority for the FBI and our law enforcement partners, as we work together to crack down on violent crime and keep the public safe.”

The case was investigated by the Bensalem Township Police Department, the Haverford Township Police Department, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Upper Merion Township Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Jayne.

to follow Daily Voice Bristol and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE