Three Armed Bank Robbers Sentenced To At Least Seven Years In Federal Prison

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced bank robbers Donald Marcel Rivers, Jr., age 30; Ashley Nicole Collier, age 31; and Timothy Mclain, age 29; all of Hagerstown, Maryland, to 14 years, 90 months, and 84 months and one day in prison, respectively, each followed by five years, five years, and three years of supervised release, for armed bank robbery and related firearms charges.  Collier and Mclain were sentenced today and Rivers was sentenced on November 19, 2018.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office, Chief Paul J. Kifer of the Hagerstown Police Department; and Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore. 

According to their plea agreements, Rivers and his girlfriend, Collier, planned to rob a bank and enlisted Collier’s brother, Mclain.  Specifically, on January 9, 2018, the conspirators robbed a bank located in the 1300 block of Salem Avenue in Hagerstown. The three arrived at the bank in a gray Jeep Cherokee.  Rivers and Mclain, both wearing black face masks, entered the bank while Collier remained in the Jeep as the getaway driver.  Rivers was armed with a loaded 9mm handgun, which he pointed at bank employees and customers inside the bank.  Both men yelled and demanded “hundreds and fifties” from the tellers.  Mclain held a duffle bag for the tellers to put the cash in, while Rivers approached several bank employees and a customer and pointed the firearm at them.  After the tellers put the cash in Mclain’s duffle bag, the two men ran from the bank and jumped into the back seat of the Jeep while Collier sped away.  The robbers stole approximately $6,567 from the bank.

Approximately 20 minutes later, police saw the gray Jeep near the road that runs along the Maryland and Pennsylvania state line.  As the police attempted to stop the Jeep, the passenger side door swung open while the Jeep was in motion.  As the Jeep came to a stop, Rivers jumped out and fled into a nearby cornfield, while the Jeep sped away.  Police caught Rivers, who had $2,860.00 in his pocket.

A short time later, police saw the Jeep again parked in a nearby church parking lot.  About 100 yards away, police saw Mclain and Collier walking on the road and arrested both of them.  Mclain had $2,660.00 and a black face mask in his pocket.  Collier had a 9mm handgun loaded with nine live 9mm rounds of ammunition and $1,070 in her purse.  The 9mm handgun was the same handgun used in the bank robbery, and had previously been reported stolen from the owner in West Virginia.

A search warrant was authorized for the gray Jeep, which was registered to Rivers’ mother.  Inside the Jeep, police located clothing worn by the robbers during the robbery, a black ski mask worn by Rivers during the robbery, a black duffle bag, and plastic cards belonging to Rivers and Collier, including a shooting range badge with Rivers’ name and photograph printed on the front of the card.

According to witnesses and records from the shooting range, on November 6, 2017, Rivers was in possession of firearms and ammunition at the shooting range.  Rivers had a previous felony conviction and was therefore prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

Donald Rivers’ mother, Dianne Rivers, pled guilty to felony obstruction of justice after she destroyed a phone her son used after the robbery.  The grand jury had subpoenaed the phone during the robbery investigation.  On November 9, 2018, Judge Chasanow sentenced Dianne Rivers to 3 months in prison.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the FBI – Frederick, the Hagerstown Police Department, and the Washington County’s Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Duey and Sandra Wilkinson, who prosecuted the case.