FAYETTEVILLE -- A Tennessee man accused of robbing a Fayetteville bank in January pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court.
Danny Ray Madison, 57, of Nashville, Tenn., was arrested in connection with the Jan. 10 robbery, according to information from the Fayetteville Police Department. A federal grand jury indicted Madison in March on one count of bank robbery. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment and was ordered detained pending trial.
Madison has a history of robbing banks with prior convictions in 1995, 2002 and 2012, police said.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks accepted Madison's guilty plea. Sentencing will take place after a presentencing report is prepared by the federal probation office, which typically takes about three months.
Madison faces up to 20 years in prison, fines of up to $250, three years of probation upon release and may be ordered to pay restitution.
Prosecutors said Madison stole $9,779.
Officers were called to First Security Bank at 3443 W. Wedington Drive at 8:39 a.m. Jan. 10, according to police. Madison went into the bank and took an undisclosed amount of money before leaving on foot, police said.
He threatened bank employees, saying he had a gun and kept one hand in his pocket, according to a preliminary report. He handed an employee a bag and demanded money from both of the bank tellers' cash drawers, the report said. Madison told police he did not actually have a gun during the robbery.
Madison left the bank and walked through the parking lot near the Walmart Neighborhood Market just south of the bank, police said. Officers searched the area, and an employee at a nearby motel said he believed a man matching the photo taken during the robbery had been there the previous night. He identified the man as Madison.
Madison was found on surveillance video from the Jefferson Bus Lines building at 3075 W. Wedington Drive. A clerk at the bus terminal said Madison had been in the building asking about a bus ticket. The clerk said Madison left the bus station in a taxi, but left a backpack behind.
Police said investigators began watching the bus station and saw a taxi enter the parking lot with Madison inside. Madison entered the bus station and was arrested. Police said Madison was wearing clothing that matched what was in the bank robbery photos and had a large amount of cash in his pockets.
Police said Madison admitted to investigators he robbed the bank on Wedington Drive and that he had come to Fayetteville by bus specifically to rob a bank.