CAMDEN, N.J. – A Philadelphia man today admitted serving as the get-away driver to two Pennsylvania men who robbed a bank in Carneys Point, New Jersey, in July 2018, while brandishing a firearm, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Kenneth S. Thompson, 43, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez in Camden federal court to an indictment charging him with bank robbery.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Thompson admitted that on July 30, 2018, he and co-defendants Antwaine Thomas and Kareem Moore drove from Philadelphia to Salem County. They agreed that Thomas and Moore would rob the Fulton Bank in Carneys Point and that Thompson would assist them in escaping with the stolen proceeds by serving as the get-away driver. Thomas and Moore walked into the bank and demanded cash from numerous bank employees while pointing a loaded handgun at them. Thomas and Moore took the cash from the bank and fled. In the meantime, Thompson drove past the bank multiple times in an effort to abscond with his confederates, but was thwarted when responding officers arrived at the bank within minutes of the robbery. Thompson fled in the get-away car.
The count of bank robbery to which Thompson pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2023.
Thomas and Moore previously pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a bank robbery, and on May 11, 2021, Judge Rodriguez sentenced them to 272 months’ imprisonment and 168 months’ imprisonment, respectively.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire in Philadelphia; the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Salem County Prosecutor Kristin J. Telsey; officers of the Carneys Point Police Department, under the direction of Chief Dale VanNamee; and officers of the Penns Grove Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Richard Rivera, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen M. Harberg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.