A Columbia man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in connection with the 2005 robbery of a Darlington business, as well as a Camden bank, U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins said in a press release.
U.S. District Judge R. Bryan Harwell sentenced 24-year-old Ryan Craig Brown for bank robbery, armed robbery, and using a firearm in the commission of the bank robbery.
Brown robbed the Movie Gallery on U.S. 52 in Darlington on Dec. 20, 2005. Brown shoved a firearm into the store manager’s side, demanding money from the register and safe, and forcing five employees and customers into the restroom at the rear of the store. Brown also took the manager’s car to flee the scene and was involved in a high-speed chase with Darlington police.
A witness in the store’s parking lot called 911 as a man robbed the store about 1:15 p.m., and police responded immediately.
Police followed him along U.S. 52 and U.S. 401 before he turned onto Indian Branch Road. The man came to an abrupt halt when he reached a four-way stop at Indian Branch and Bethel roads.
The stolen vehicle was struck in the rear by a patrol car and forced off the road into a nearby ditch. Brown had a loaded pistol, cash, and a set of restraints in his possession when he was apprehended after a foot chase into a wooded area. No one was injured during the chase.
Brown faced charges of armed robbery, grand larceny, possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime, resisting arrest and failure to stop for a blue light. He also faced five counts of kidnapping.
On Nov. 16, 2005, Brown also robbed the First Palmetto Savings Bank at 2310 N. Broad St. in Camden, by pointing a gun at the tellers and demanding money.
The case was investigated by the Darlington and Camden police departments, the Darlington County Sheriff's Office, the S.C. Highway Patrol, State Law Enforcement Division, the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose Mary Parham of the Florence office prosecuted the case as part of Project CeaseFire, an initiative of the United States Attorneys Office that seeks to aggressively prosecute gun-related crimes.
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