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FBI
Putting the Brakes on Crime
Getaway Driver
Sentenced to 121 Years
02/26/16
Sesley Williams was a ringleader and getaway driver for a string of
robberies involving multiple banks and commercial establishments in Las
Vegas and nearby Henderson, Nevada. Today she’s in a federal prison
after being sentenced last month by a U.S. district judge.
It all started on a winter afternoon in 2012. While Williams sat in her
car outside an outlet mall clothing store in Las Vegas, her accomplice,
Anthony Jordan, was inside checking out merchandise. Jordan already had
a sweater and a bottle of cologne in his possession when he asked an
employee to bring out two watches from a locked glass container.
With the items in hand, Jordan made his way to the registers to check
out. As the cashier began ringing him up, Jordan brandished a
semi-automatic handgun and demanded everything from the drawer.
In all, Jordan walked out of the store with hundreds of dollars worth
of stolen merchandise and cash. He found Williams waiting in the car
nearby, and the two fled the scene.
Following the successful outlet store heist, Williams and Jordan
continued to carry out a flurry of robberies between December 2012 and
March 2013. In a span of just a few short months, Williams, Jordan, and
a third accomplice led an intense crime spree, lifting merchandise and
emptying cash registers at businesses and banks in the region.
Anything from clothing stores and fast food chains to banks inside
grocery stores were consistently targeted by Williams and her group.
Although she never stepped inside the businesses that were robbed,
Williams supplied disguises and a handgun while fulfilling the role as
getaway driver for every crime.
The unprecedented number of robberies committed by the group left
frightened store employees and empty cash registers in their wake. But
the spree ended after a tip made to the FBI’s Las Vegas office spurred
the Bureau’s Las Vegas Criminal Apprehension Team and Safe Streets Gang
Task Force to action. The task force combines FBI special agents with
detectives from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department and Henderson
Police Department to pool expertise in targeting violent criminals,
fugitives, and gangs in the region. Williams and crew were now in their
crosshairs.
Agents from the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office reviewed hours of
surveillance video, conducted interviews, and used other investigative
techniques that ultimately led to the arrest of Williams and Jordan in
June 2013.
Following the joint investigation, a weeklong trial, and 18 convictions
on 18 counts, Williams was sentenced to 121 years in a federal prison
for supplying a handgun and assisting as getaway driver during the rash
of robberies. Jordan was dealt a similar fate after his trial and is
now serving 60 years for his involvement in the crimes.
“Merely displaying a weapon during a robbery carries significant prison
time—that’s exactly what Williams and her crew did during these
robberies,” said the FBI Las Vegas agent who led the investigation. “A
federal offense like this for a single robbery will land you a lengthy
prison sentence. The fact that Williams was convicted of five counts of
brandishing a firearm during the robberies puts her in jail for a
lifetime.”
While Williams’ getaway-driving days are over, the FBI continues to
apprehend dangerous criminals like her and Jordan by coordinating with
local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and citizens in the
community. Solving violent crimes in cities like Las Vegas is also made
possible through public leads and tips submitted on tips.fbi.gov.
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