Serial Albany bank robber gets lengthy prison term

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - A Florida man who robbed the Peoples South Bank in Albany in 2016 was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for his crime, according to U.S. Attorney Charles “Charlie” Peeler, on Friday.

Avery Williams, 38, of Quincy, Florida, was sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands in Albany.

The federal courthouse in Albany, Georgia (Source: WALB)

Williams is currently serving time in a Florida prison on a prior bank robbery conviction, and his federal sentence will run concurrently. There is no parole in the federal system.

Williams admitted that he robbed the Peoples South Bank at 701 North Westover Boulevard in Albany on September 9, 2016. He was recorded on security video walking into the bank and passing a demand note to the teller.

Eight months after the Albany bank robbery, Williams was arrested on May 3, 2017 for a bank robbery in Sarasota, Florida. Under oath, he admitted to the Florida robbery, and said “he had a few more things to get off his chest...” and told agents he robbed banks in Albany and Dothan, Alabama.

“Law enforcement caught up to this serial bank robber well before his conscience did,” said Charlie Peeler, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. “I want to thank our strong law enforcement community that stopped a dangerous man who repeatedly caused havoc in communities across the southeast.”

The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah McEwen prosecuted the case for the government.