Man Sentenced to 12-Years in Prison For Antioch Armed Bank Robbery

Defendant hid from police inside a victim’s house and refused to allow the victim to leave

OAKLAND – Shawn Hermann McGee, AKA Shawn Burris, was sentenced today to 12 years in prison, and ordered to pay $7,200 in restitution for an armed bank robbery, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The sentence, imposed by Honorable Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, U.S. District Court Judge, follows a guilty plea entered by McGee on April 7, 2016.

According to the plea agreement, on May 16, 2015, McGee, 52, of Oakland, entered the Wells Fargo bank located inside a Safeway in Antioch.  He was wearing a hard hat, a blue jumpsuit, dark sunglasses, and gloves.

McGee placed a note demanding money on the teller counter, pointed a gun at the victim teller’s chest, ordered her to give him money, and threatened to shoot her if she pushed the silent alarm button.

McGee fled the bank using a bicycle in the parking lot, then threw the bicycle into a pickup truck and led police on a high speed chase toward East Oakland.  After reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour, McGee eventually crashed his truck.

McGee then ran toward an apartment complex in Oakland and, in an attempt to evade capture, entered one of the apartments.  Inside the apartment, McGee found a resident who he told to keep quiet, remain on the sofa, and not alert the police.

McGee remained inside the apartment with the resident for several hours. McGee eventually was arrested at the entrance to the apartment and officers collected the proceeds of the robbery near the location where McGee crashed his truck.

McGee, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 2, 2015.  He was charged with armed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113, and forced accompaniment, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Gonzalez Rogers also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release.  McGee, who has been in custody since his May, 2015 arrest, will begin serving his 12-year sentence immediately.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Vanessa Quant, Melissa Dorton, and Patty Lau.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Antioch Police Department, Oakland Police Department and California Highway Patrol.