Bank robber who conspired with bank teller gets more than 32 years

Dead broke and living in a car, two men persuaded a bank teller to help them orchestrate a violent armed robbery of a Wells Fargo branch. That robbery and another, staged in November 2013, netted the group more than $150,000 before they were caught.

In January, one of the men, Marquis Wilson, received more than 43 years in federal prison for the crimes. On Tuesday, a U.S. District Court judge sentenced the second man, Malcolm Moore, to more than 32 years behind bars.

According to court documents, Wilson, 27, and Moore, 23, met the teller, Calia Kane, 23, in October 2013 as she left a college business exam. Wilson and Kane began a romantic relationship. "The first days of their courtship involved discussing how to rob the bank," according to court documents.

Kane testified that she initially thought Wilson was joking, but provided the guidance and step-by-step plan he would need.

Wilson persuaded Moore to join him, and the trio created a detailed plan, according to court documents. On Nov. 4, Moore entered the Wells Fargo branch in Bala Cynwyd brandishing a gun and jumped on the counter as Kane worked behind it. Wilson followed with a duffel bag to hold the money, and jumped over the counter and demanded that tellers fill the bag with cash. A third man, Martril Foster, 21, locked the door behind them and served as lookout.

The three men fled to Georgia after the robbery. But, while driving through North Carolina, a police officer stopped them for a violation. The officer became suspicious, searched the vehicle, and seized $80,000 he found in the trunk. The officer did not suspect them of robbery,  assuming that they had been planning to buy drugs.

Wilson, Moore, and Foster returned to Philadelphia. Having lost the loot, they hatched a scheme to rob another bank. They cased Wells Fargo branches in the Philadelphia suburbs before settling on a branch in Phoenixville, according to court documents.  On Nov. 11, they drove to the branch to rob it, but were frustrated to learn that banks are closed on Veterans Day. The next morning, they returned and escaped with $77,000.

After a shopping spree in New Jersey, Wilson bought a car and a laptop, and paid a $300 fine to the City of Philadelphia for an unknown violation, according to court papers. Learning that local police were looking for them, Wilson, Moore, and Kane drove to Georgia to lay low again.

Foster, fearing he would be implicated in the robberies, then went to the police. Wilson, Moore, and Kane were arrested in Georgia.

Foster was sentenced to seven years in prison. Kane was sentenced to seven years in 2016 after pleading guilty to avoid trial.