On March 10, 2008, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted Bernard Sutton for the Robbery of the Wachovia Bank off of Lee Road.
Bernard Sutton pled guilty in front of Superior Court Judge David T. Emerson on Thursday, March 6, 2008 to charges of Robbery and Attempting to Elude Law Enforcement. Mr. Sutton was sentenced on Monday, March 10, 2008 to 25 year sentence, with 15 years to serve in prison.
On August 18, 2007, Sutton, along with his co-defendants Shan Moltke and Damian Moore, came to Douglas County from Fulton County with the intent to rob the Wachovia Bank. Mr. Sutton came into the Wachovia Bank and slipped a note to the bank teller stating that “this is a robbery; put the money in the bag and nobody will get hurt!” The bank teller put the money in the bag, but was also able to conceal a dye pack into the bag.
Mr. Sutton took the bag of money from the teller and exited out the main doors of the bank. The dye pack exploded in the bag, and the defendants threw the bag of money out the vehicle window as they tried to leave.
Bank employees and customers were able to give a description of Sutton to law enforcement and described the vehicle he left in as a Red Jeep Cherokee. Bank security videos were also able to capture the robbery on video.
The Douglas County Sheriff Deputies attempted to pull over a vehicle matching the description given by witnesses, and the vehicle took off leading law enforcement on a dangerous high speed pursuit that ended in Fulton County. Mr. Sutton was the driver of the vehicle, and Moore was a passenger in the vehicle. Moltke, the owner of the vehicle, was also in the car.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant District Attorney Eddie Barker stated that “Douglas County is very fortunate to have professional officers that were able to handle the high speed chase without anyone being injured.” The high speed chase, which was captured on a video, was shown for the Judge during the sentencing hearing. Mr. Barker also thanked the bank teller and bank customers for their willingness to work with law enforcement to stop the bank robbers.
Shan Moltke is set to take a plea in this case at a later date and Damian Moore has been set for a trial at a future date.
