Volusia Bank Robber with Fake Bomb Pleads Guilty in Federal Court

ORLANDO—United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces that Scott Edward Nelson (46, Vermont) today pleaded guilty to bank robbery with a dangerous weapon. Nelson faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison.

According to the facts presented at the plea hearing, on December 7, 2010, Nelson entered a branch of Wachovia Bank at

1302 West International Speedway Boulevard, Daytona Beach, Florida

. He handed a bank employee a five-page, handwritten demand note in which he repeatedly emphasized that everyone would die unless he received all of the "paper money" in the bank. Nelson further claimed to have with him a bomb, a .45 caliber handgun, a taser, and pepper spray. The bomb, he wrote, would "light everything in this bank on fire."

After receiving a large amount in federally insured funds, Nelson fled the bank on foot, leaving behind a device resembling a homemade bomb. He was captured in the bank's parking lot by officers from the Daytona Beach Police Department. Officers later determined that the bomb inside that bank was a hoax device. Nevertheless, the threat of the bomb already had resulted in extensive lock-downs and evacuations of the surrounding area, including a local high school and a hospital.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of Daytona Beach Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.

Daytona Beach Man Sentenced to More Than 9 Years for Selling Guns and Drugs

Orlando, FL — U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces that Chief U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway today sentenced Jarod A. Vreen (age 23, of Daytona Beach, Florida) to 9 years and 2 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Vreen pled guilty on October 5, 2010.

Vreen was charged in May 2010 as part of a joint federal and state effort to target armed career drug dealers and violent criminals in Daytona Beach. To date, the investigation has led to the arrest of approximately 50 people who have been charged in federal and state court.

According to court documents, on February 12, 2009, Vreen and his co-defendant, Shmarree McBean, sold approximately 9.6 grams of crack cocaine and a loaded semiautomatic pistol to an undercover ATF agent in exchange for $800. McBean has also pled guilty to related federal charges. McBean is scheduled to be sentenced on February 14, 2011.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Daytona Beach Police Department, with forensic support from the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vincent S. Chiu.