WAYCROSS, GA – Matthew McCloskey, a 34-year-old former resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a bank robbery in Waycross, Georgia. U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg announced the sentencing, which was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker.
The sentence will run concurrently with a state sentence McCloskey is serving for a kidnapping conviction related to the same incident. Additionally, McCloskey has been ordered to pay $877 in restitution and will be placed under supervised release for three years after completing his prison term. It is noted that there is no parole in the federal system.
Court documents reveal that on September 9, 2022, McCloskey entered Ameris Bank in Waycross and handed a teller a note demanding money. After receiving the cash, he escaped in a vehicle that was waiting outside. The Waycross Police Department quickly located the getaway vehicle, and its owner admitted to driving McCloskey to the bank. Further investigation led officers to a local motel where McCloskey and his girlfriend were staying, having used the stolen money to pay for a taxi there. McCloskey was arrested at the motel after a confrontation that led to his kidnapping conviction when he refused to allow his girlfriend to leave their room.
McCloskey has two prior felony convictions for bank robbery in New York from 2013 and 2016. This pattern of criminal behavior underscores the persistent risks posed by repeat offenders to community safety.
