Acting United States Attorney G.F. Peterman, III announces that Ryan O. Harris, age 22, of Bainbridge, Georgia, was sentenced on March 29, 2016, to serve forty-one ( 41) months in Federal prison for bank robbery. The sentence was handed down by United States District Court Judge Leslie J. Abrams in Macon, Georgia.

Mr. Harris pled guilty to the charges on October 13, 2015. Mr. Harris admitted that on July 16, 2015, at about 9:45 a.m., he entered the Family Bank, a federally-insured financial institution, located on East College Street, in Bainbridge, Georgia. Mr. Harris went to a customer island and began writing something.

When one of the tellers asked Mr. Harris if he needed any assistance, Mr. Harris turned and left the bank without conducting any banking business. At about 1:30 p.m. the same afternoon, Mr. Harris returned to the Family Bank, dressed in the same clothes and carrying a black backpack. He approached the teller counter and stated, “Fill it up, I ain’t got all day,” to one bank teller and to another bank teller, he stated, “You, too,” meaning for the second teller to assist filling the backpack with money. Mr. Harris then displayed a pistol to the bank tellers.

The bank tellers filled the backpack with currency, as well as bait money, and dye packs.

Mr. Harris then ran out of the bank. All ofthe above events were captured on surveillance video.

The bank employees called 911.

Law enforcement responded and began looking for a suspect in the vicinity. A Bainbridge

Public Safety Officer spotted Mr. Harris fleeing on foot and gave chase briefly before Mr. Harris eluded him. Mr. Harris was apprehended a short time later by other officers and taken into custody.

When asked why he robbed the bank, he replied that he was tired of being broke. Officers recovered the black backpack containing the money, exploded dye packs, and bait bills, along with the pistol, all in close vicinity to the place where Mr. Harris was apprehended. This pistol was later determined to be a spray-painted BB gun.

The case was investigated by the Bainbridge Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Jim Crane prosecuted the case on behalf of the Government.

Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.