A former South Carolina church deacon pleaded guilty to federal bank robbery and weapons charges Thursday.
Bruce Lee Windsor entered the pleas in Spartanburg. Jury selection for the 43-year-old father of four's trial on bank robbery and weapons charges had been scheduled for next week.
Prosecutors say on February 26, 2009, Windsor entered the Greenville First Bank on Verdae Boulevard in Greenville wearing a mask, wig, hat, and sunglasses.
While brandishing a gun, he approached a bank employee and forced her to go into an office where he presented a demand note.
The typed three-page note indicated that the robber was part of an organization that had the bank surrounded and, unless the employee did exactly as she was instructed, they would kill her.
The robber also indicated he was aware of other bank employees’ relatives and their locations, and unless his demands were met, they would be harmed. Several individuals had seen Windsor enter the bank wearing the disguise and called 911 to report a robbery. Law enforcement responded and surrounded the bank.
After a 90-minute standoff, he gave up peacefully and released the hostages unharmed.
Windsor's family has said he snapped because of financial problems.
Windsor will remain in custody until he is sentenced in a couple of months. He faces up to 25 years in prison on the robbery charge and life in prison on the weapons charge.
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