Serial Brooklyn, Manhattan Bank Robber Gets 10-Year Sentence: DOJ

BROOKLYN, NY — A serial bank robber who became a poster child for bail reform critics has been sentenced to ten years in prison, according to prosecutors.

Gerod Woodberry, 44, was sentenced Wednesday, several months after he pleaded guilty to the 16-day crime spree, according to prosecutors.

Woodberry's arrest had made headlines in 2020 when he was charged with four bank robberies, released from custody, and went on to rob two more banks. Federal prosecutors eventually took over the case, meaning Woodberry could be locked up while he awaited trial, according to officials and reports from the time.

“The defendant has been held accountable in federal court for a 16-day crimespree in which he robbed or attempted to rob six banks,” United States Attorney Breon Peace said this week. “I commend the members of law enforcement who apprehended the defendant and ended his string of robberies.”

Woodberry's robbery spree began in late 2019, when he robbed or tried to rob four banks in just over a week heading into the New Year, according to prosectors.

He was arrested and charged in state court on one of the bank robberies, and released pending trial, prosecutors said.

Just hours after he left custody, Woodberry went into a Chase Bank on Flatbush Avenue near Nevins Street and handed over a note to the teller, prosecutors said.

“THIS IS A ROBBERYBIG BILLS ONLY NO DYE PACKS," the note read.

Woodberry left the bank with $1,000 in cash, according to prosecutors.

Days later, he tried to rob a sixth bank at a Citibank branch in Manhattan, where he fled empty-handed, prosecutors said. He turned himself in to law enforcement a few days later, according to reports.

In total, Woodberry stole $3,100 from the three banks he successfully robbed, according to prosecutors. He pleaded guilty in July 2021.

The Brooklyn robber's sentencing comes at another critical time for the state's bail laws.

Mayor Eric Adams has proposed controversial changes to the 2019 bail reform, which restricted the use of cash bail and pretrial jailing. Adams has suggested adding a provision that would let judge's assess a defendant's "dangerousness" when deciding whether to set bail, though activists have pushed back, warning the idea opens the door for the very racial bias bail reform sought to address.