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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man is currently being held in the Mecklenburg County Jail for his alleged involvement in three bank robberies within six weeks in Charlotte, according to CMPD.
CMPD’s Armed Robbery Unit released a video on Thursday sharing its role in repeatedly catching the serial bank robbery suspect, Khalil Prater, a felon out of Pennsylvania.
Original Story :
Detectives have identified a man they believe is responsible for robbing a Bank of America in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Police say Khalil Prater, 26, entered the Bank of America on Beatties Ford Road and approached the teller with a note that read ““Give me as much money as you can and nobody gets hurt – hurry.”
The teller complied and gave Prater $6,600 in cash before he left on foot, according to a news release.
Police say Prater was identified as the suspect in the above robbery based on his involvement in a similar bank robbery at a Wells Fargo on February 8th, where he was arrested and charged.
Khalil Prater
Detectives say during the robbery at Wells Fargo, Prater passed a threatening note to the bank teller that read “Give me money and no one gets hurt. Hurry.”
The manager gave Prater $837 in cash and a GPS tracking device, before Prater left the bank on foot, according to a news release.
CMPD officers responded to the location of the tracking device and found Prater within a few hundred yards of the bank walking on foot and arrested him.
During his interview with detectives, Prater confessed to committing the bank robbery and was charged.
On February 23rd, Prater was released from the Mecklenburg County Jail, according to a news release.
As a condition of his release, CMPD placed an electronic ankle monitor on Prater which notifies police of his location at all times.
After surveillance photos were reviewed of the February 8th robbery, law enforcement immediately identified Prater as the man who robbed the Bank of America branch.
CMPD officers learned Prater was at the bank at the time of the robbery based on his electronic ankle monitor device.
Police then responded to his home on Lincoln Heights Court in Charlotte to locate Prater.
At his home, officers discovered he was wearing the same red shirt described by witnesses as the shirt worn during the robbery.
During a consent search of the home, officers also located $6,535 in cash inside a pair of black pants (which were consistent with the pants worn by Prater during the robbery).
Police arrested Prater and after being interviewed by detectives, he denied committing the robbery claiming it was “a misunderstanding.”
Prater was then charged with offenses related to the bank robbery, according to a news release.
On March 15th, Prater was released from jail on the second robbery and was again placed on a CMPD electronic ankle monitor as a condition of his release.
Police say the very next day on March 16th, Prater attempted to rob a U.S. Bank on S Tryon Street.
He once again approached the teller and passed a note demanding money.
Police say the teller in this incident pretended not to understand and notified her co-workers of the potential robbery via Microsoft Teams.
Detectives say Prater then went to another teller and said “I know you can open it and you have 30 seconds,” before beginning to count down.
An unarmed security guard told Prater that he needed to leave and he did so without obtaining any property from the bank.
CMPD immediately learned Prater was in the area of the bank when the attempted robbery occurred due to his electronic ankle monitor.
A short time later, officers located Prater wearing the same clothing as the man who robbed the bank.
Prater was placed under arrest and police say they found the demand note on Prater during a search.
Detectives attempted to interview Prater but he chose not to speak with them about the latest incident.
