BALTIMORE – Dexter Nikoe Eaton, age 34, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty last week to armed bank robbery, related to a series of bank and armed commercial robberies he committed in the city.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Richard Worley of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to Eaton’s plea agreement, between June 3 and July 30, 2022, Eaton committee six separate robberies/attempted robberies of banks and other businesses and used a firearm in four of the robberies.
Specifically, Eaton admitted that on June 3, 2022, he robbed a bank in the 3200 block of West North Avenue in Baltimore, providing a note to the teller that demanded money and threatened to kill the teller’s family if the teller did not comply with Eaton’s demands. On June 9, 2022, Eaton attempted to rob a check cashing and financial services business located in the 1600 block of West North Avenue, again by passing a note to the teller. The teller refused to read the note, instead activating an alarm, and Eaton fled the bank. Law enforcement collected the note passed by Eaton, which again demanded money and threatened to kill the family of the employee if Eaton’s demands were not met.
As detailed in his plea agreement, on June 10, 2022, Eaton, armed with a handgun, entered a bank in the 3200 block of West North Avenue wearing a black head covering and a surgical mask and pointed the gun at customers and employees stating, “Nobody move. Give me $4,000 or everyone in this b***h is dead.” Eaton forced a customer to the ground at gunpoint and took the customer’s wallet and cash. With the gun still pointed at the customer’s head, Eaton demanded that an employee get him $4,000 or Eaton would shoot the customer. The bank employee, fearing for her safety and the safety of others, gave Eaton cash, and Eaton fled the bank. On June 27, Eaton, armed with a handgun, robbed a bank in the 4700 block of Liberty Heights Avenue in Baltimore, pointing a gun at the security guard’s head and forcing the security guard to accompany Eaton to the teller window, where a customer was conducting a transaction. With the gun still at the security guard’s head, Eaton demanded that the teller give him $7,000 and threatened to shoot the security guard and the customer if the teller did not give him money or pushed any alarms. Fearing for her safety, the teller gave Eaton cash and he fled the bank.
Finally, on July 23, 2022, and July 30, 2022, Eaton robbed two businesses in the 3100 block of West North Avenue. In both robberies, Eaton held employees at gunpoint and demanded money, threatening an employee in the second robbery for moving too slow. The employees in both robberies gave Eaton cash and he left the stores.
Eaton and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, a sentence between seven and 20 years in federal prison is the appropriate disposition of the case. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for May 15, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the FBI and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reema Sood and Paul E. Budlow, who are prosecuting the case.
