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Men plead guilty to 2009 bank robbery

Three suspects have pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a 2009 bank robbery in Rocky Mount, police said Thursday.

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Basim Albert Hamad
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Three suspects have pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a 2009 bank robbery in Rocky Mount, police said Thursday.

Basim Albert Hamad, 49, Douglas Gene Whitfield, 41, and Johnathan David Murray, 26, all admitted guilt to some actions connected to the April 17, 2009, robbery of the Freedom Federal Credit Union on Wesleyan Boulevard.

Hamad pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. He faces up to life in prison. Police said that he was convicted of bank robbery in 1990.

Whitfield was convicted of bank robbery with forced accompaniment. He faces anywhere from 10 years to life in prison.

Murray pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery. He could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

All three men will be sentenced in late June.

Murray and Whitfield also face state charges in connection with a home invasion in Rocky Mount a couple weeks before the bank robbery. Police said a couple was tied up, and a man assaulted.

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