COLUMBIA, SC (WIS/AP) - A man involved in a Columbia bank robbery where several shots were fired and one of the suspects was killed by law enforcement has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
23-year-old Rashad Hall pleaded guilty Monday to more than 30 counts of armed robbery, kidnapping, attempted murder and other charges.
Authorities say Hall and three other men went into a Wells Fargo branch on Two Notch Road near Parklane Road on November 9, firing shots into the floor, ceiling and walls.
Prosecutors say the incident frightened the bank employees so badly they needed group counseling and were afraid to show their faces at the guilty plea.
Shortly after the robbery, witnesses explained the experience.
"At one point one of them stood over me straddled over me and the gun
was like to his side," said Dana Chisholm, who was in the bank during
the robbery. "I didn't want to look at him and next thing I know I
heard, I think they shot again. Once they were leaving I think I heard
another pop and then the bank manager was like, 'Everybody stay down.'"
"When they first hit the door they started shooting," said Pastor Ray Davis, who was also inside the bank.
"Soon as they got in they had automatic weapons so the one guy he
said to others 'If you don't get money I'm going to kill everybody in
here,'" said Davis. "You don't know when you are going to get a chance to
tell someone you love them so let me tell my wife my daughter my mother
in law my son in law love you all."
As they exited the bank, the group fired even more shots before
hopping into their getaway vehicle and speeding down Parklane Road as
deputies pursued them.
Investigators say the suspects then fired on deputies during the short chase.
One suspect was killed by officers. No one else was hurt. The other two suspects are awaiting trials.
Hall's criminal history includes arrests for armed robbery, kidnapping
and assault on a police officer while resisting arrest for an incident
in 2011.
One of the suspects even had an ankle bracelet he removed this morning prior to the robbery attempt, said Sheriff Leon Lott.
Copyright 2013 WIS. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rashad Hall (Source: Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center)
The scene of the November, 2012 robbery
