Judge Convicts Man at Trial of Robbing Bank Teller in 2024 by Passing Note Demanding Money, Threatening to Use Gun

NORFOLK, Va. — Lemar Antonio Veale Jr., 25, was convicted at a bench trial on Sept. 29 of robbery by threat, using a firearm in the commission of robbery, and extortion after he robbed a bank teller last year by passing a threatening note in which he said he had a gun.

Around 9:30 in the morning on Oct. 8, 2024, Mr. Veale walked into the Truist Bank on East Little Creek Road and slid a handwritten note to a teller stating that he had a gun and that he would harm people inside the bank if he was not given $100,000. The teller alerted Norfolk Police via the bank’s silent alarm system and gave Mr. Veale cash totaling $36,500.

Mr. Veale left the bank and got into a black Toyota Camry. Norfolk Police officers arrived as he was pulling away, and bank employees pointed out his car to the police. The officers attempted to stop the car, but Mr. Veale continued driving away, losing the officers, and the police department sent a BOLO with Mr. Veale’s information to neighboring cities. Mr. Veale then drove into Portsmouth, where the Portsmouth Police Department’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit officers located his car and began pursuing him. Mr. Veale eventually drove into a dead end in an apartment complex parking lot, and the officers arrested him there. Mr. Veale still had the $36,500 in cash that he had robbed on his person when he was taken into custody. After he was detained, the bank teller whom Mr. Veale robbed positively identified him.

Based on the evidence, Mr. Veale was charged with robbery by threat, using a firearm in the commission of robbery, and extortion. On Sept. 29, Mr. Veale pleaded not guilty to his charges and requested to be tried by a judge. After hearing the evidence and arguments at trial, Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise found Mr. Veale guilty and set his sentencing hearing on Dec. 5.

“Real life is not the movies. Robbing a bank is a terrible idea, both dangerous and pretty much guaranteed to get a person caught,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “I commend the Norfolk and Portsmouth Police Departments for their quick work in apprehending Mr. Veale. Mr. Veale endangered himself and others with this ill-conceived robbery, and at sentencing we will seek a sanction against Mr. Veale that will hold him accountable for what he has done. My colleagues and I will continue to try cases involving serious threats to public safety.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Victoria T. Vaccaro is prosecuting Mr. Veale’s case, and Norfolk Police Detectives Jose R. Oyola and Andrew J. Jowdy led the investigation.

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