Nacoe Ray Brown, Bank Robbery, Florida 2022

Nacoe Ray Brown pulled off a daring heist at the McCoy Federal Credit Union in Belle Isle, Florida, wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, a surgical style facemask, and plastic gloves, passing a note to the teller threatening that he had a gun and demanding $4,296 in cash. Brown, a film producer, claimed he committed the robbery because he was short on funds for a movie production.

Surveillance cameras captured Brown’s brazen act, but it was a witness who saw him flee the bank and enter a nearby gas station where he had stashed a change of clothes that led police to his hotel room. The authorities recovered the demand note, stolen cash, and the disguise he had discarded in the restroom.

Brown, 55, of Baltimore, Maryland, had a history of bank robberies, having been convicted of robbing three banks in the Baltimore area in 2001. He was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison but was released early in 2020 due to compassionate release grounds related to the pandemic.

Brown began serving his term of supervised release under the U.S. Probation Office in Baltimore but couldn’t resist the temptation of another heist. On June 28, 2022, he struck again, this time at the McCoy Federal Credit Union.

Brown pleaded guilty on January 4, 2023, and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, including 8 years for the robbery offense and 2 years consecutive for violating the terms of his supervised release. The penalties were handed down by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Belle Isle Police Department, with Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta leading the prosecution. The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence in communities.

This high-profile case serves as a reminder that law enforcement will not tolerate repeat offenders, and those who think they can slip back into their old habits will face the full force of the law. Nacoe Ray Brown’s sentence is a testament to the dedication of law enforcement agencies in keeping our communities safe.

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