Detroit man sentenced to 2-plus years in federal prison for robbing Lompoc credit union
Jun. 22—A Michigan man was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to robbing CoastHills Credit Union in Lompoc on Oct. 13, 2020.
Maurice Pilgrim, 20, of Detroit appeared before Percy Anderson, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, who handed down the sentence on one count of robbery.
Additionally, Pilgrim was ordered to pay $748 in restitution and a $100 assessment fee.
Federal prosecutors recommended the low end of sentencing guidelines due to the fact Pilgrim admitted to the crime, his age and lack of criminal record.
"His reaction to getting caught represented a serious disregard for the safety of others, including the public at large," Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynda Lao said in a May 29 sentencing memorandum. "The amount of $748 is proper, as it represents the amount of cash that has not yet already been returned to CoastHills Credit Union in Lompoc, California."
The first incident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. Oct. 13 at CoastHills, located in the 1300 block of North H Street, where Pilgrim showed a gun and a note to a teller, demanding money, before he fled the scene with $3,000 in cash, according to court records.
"I lost everything to [COVID-19] so make this easy for me," the note read. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I need at least [$3,000] and there will be no issue. I'm trying to survive. $100s only."
Two days later, Pilgrim drove to Mechanics Bank in the 900 block of Guadalupe Street, where he handed a note to one of the tellers, who was "extremely fearful" and handed it back to Pilgrim asking for his identification and account number, according to court records.
"Give me $5,000-$10,000 and no [one] gets hurt," Pilgrim wrote, although he left without the money after he noticed a nearby security guard.
A short time later, police located Pilgrim driving a Ford Taurus on Highway 1 and initiated a pursuit that exceeded 110 mph, nearly crashing into other motorists, before Pilgrim crashed his car near the visitor's center on then-Vandenberg Air Force Base. He was apprehended while attempting to flee on foot, according to Ciaran McEvoy, a U.S. Attorney spokesman in Los Angeles.
Police seized money connected to the Lompoc robbery that included more than $550 from his car and $1,700 in his pockets, according to Lao.
Investigators later used security camera footage and witness descriptions to match Pilgrim's Ford to one he rented in July 2020 but never returned, according to court records. Pilgrim was visiting his girlfriend in Los Angeles at the time the robbery occurred, according to McEvoy.
After he was arrested, Pilgrim allegedly told police that he used Google to research penalties for bank robbery, according to court documents.
