Rashon Coleman, Bank Robbery, Pennsylvania 2023

PITTSBURGH, PA – In a shocking display of brazen crime, Rashon Coleman, a 31-year-old resident of Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood, was sentenced to 110 months of imprisonment for his role in a series of bank robberies.

According to court documents, Coleman’s crimes began on April 10, 2023, when he walked into a bank, shoved a white plastic grocery bag containing a toy gun at the teller, and demanded $50,000 in cash. The teller, however, only gave him approximately $904.

The next day, Coleman entered another bank nearby and shouted at the tellers to give him all of the money. He received approximately $4,344 from one of the tellers. However, when he examined the cash, he demanded more, threatening to shoot one of the tellers in the head if they didn’t comply.

A teller went to the vault and returned with additional cash, which she gave to Coleman. He then fled through the bank’s front door. Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officers responding to the alarm noticed Coleman, who matched the description of the robbery suspect, walking down the street from the bank.

The officers stopped Coleman and found him in possession of a bag containing a toy gun and a large amount of cash. Coleman later confessed to robbing both banks and was subsequently charged with the two robberies in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

However, Coleman’s crimes didn’t end there. On May 20, 2023, he was granted permission to leave a community detention facility for a short period but failed to return at the designated time. The same day, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officers responded to a bank robbery in progress at the same bank that Coleman had robbed on April 10, 2023.

Coleman entered the bank yelling that he was robbing the bank and instructing everyone to get down. He demanded $20,000 in cash and threatened to start ‘popping’ people if he didn’t get the money. He also forced one of the bank’s employees to open a security door leading to the vault that Coleman had been unable to breach during his first robbery of the bank.

Coleman fled with more than $25,000 and was later found by police inside a nearby store, where he was positively identified and had a bag containing the cash.

Assistant United States Attorney Carl J. Spindler prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Coleman.

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