A Raleigh man who fired a shot inside a North Raleigh bank and held two tellers at gunpoint is headed to federal prison for 15 years. On Friday, a judge sentenced Christopher Antonio Gilmore for the March 24, 2025 robbery of a First Citizens Bank branch on Capital Boulevard, where prosecutors say he turned a weekday morning into a full-blown armed holdup. Gilmore had already pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to the robbery.
According to The News & Observer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the judge imposed 10 years for discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and a consecutive five-year term for armed bank robbery and possession of a stolen firearm, landing Gilmore at a total of 15 years. Prosecutors said Gilmore shouted, “Everybody get in the back! Heads down or I’ll start shooting again!” during the robbery. Court records show he pleaded guilty last Thursday to three counts connected to the March 2025 holdup.
How the Holdup Unfolded
Local reporting says Gilmore walked into the First Citizens branch at 4801 Capital Boulevard wearing sunglasses and a mask, then ordered tellers to lie down behind the counter. He fired a round that hit a cabinet near the manager’s office, a detail that underscores how quickly the situation escalated from threat to actual gunfire.
Reporting by ABC11 says tellers loaded roughly $20,000 and a GPS tracker into Gilmore’s backpack while an employee quietly called 911 from a break room. Gilmore then ran to a nearby tire shop, but officers moved in within minutes and arrested him, ending the robbery almost as fast as it started.
Police Work and Prosecution
Prosecutors and court filings, as reported by The News & Observer, say investigators relied on surveillance and tips to quickly track Gilmore after the robbery. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also pointed to Gilmore’s record, which includes a 2015 attempted identity-theft conviction, breaking-and-entering and larceny convictions in 2019, and a 2023 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon and related firearm offenses.
Legal Context
Federal law sets mandatory penalties for using or discharging a firearm during a violent crime: a five-year minimum for using or carrying a gun and a 10-year minimum when the gun is fired, under Cornell Law School. That structure helps explain why prosecutors pursued consecutive terms that together added up to a 15-year federal sentence.
Gilmore is now in federal custody to begin serving his time. The case, according to local reporting, also shows how a mix of surveillance technology, quick-thinking bank staff and fast police response can turn a chaotic armed robbery into a relatively swift federal prosecution.
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