A federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Pierre Lee on Thursday of using a firearm during a crime of violence, tying him to an attempted robbery at a Capital One branch in April. Pierre Lee, who also goes by Pierre Wilmoth, was found guilty following a three-day trial before U.S. Chief District Judge Margo K. Brodie, capping a case that stretched from an attempted bank stickup to a broader admission of guilt just days earlier.
A Guilty Plea Followed by a Jury Verdict
According to the US Attorney EDNY
, United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. said the verdict “holds the defendant accountable for bringing a firearm to a bank robbery and attempting to use the threat of violence to steal monies that did not belong to him.” The statement came after Thursday's jury verdict on the firearm charge tied to the attempted robbery at the Capital One branch on April 26, 2026, in Brooklyn.
Just days before that verdict, on September 1, Lee pleaded guilty to four other indictment counts, including one count of bank robbery, two counts of attempted bank robbery, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Lee had a prior felony robbery conviction that legally barred him from possessing weapons, which factored into that felon-in-possession count.
A Four-Day Spree Across Two Boroughs
Federal prosecutors say Lee's bank robbery and attempted robberies were part of a four-day crime spree spanning both Manhattan and Brooklyn in April, per the Justice Department's announcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brachah Goykadosh and Joseph P. Klemme under Interim U.S. Attorney Nocella, following an investigation involving the FBI New York Field Office.
Nocella took office as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in May 2025, sworn in by Chief District Judge Brodie after returning to the federal prosecutor's office where he previously served in the 1990s, as Hoodline reported at the time. The office handles federal prosecutions across Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island.
What Lee Now Faces at Sentencing
The firearm conviction carries real weight beyond the underlying robbery charges. Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), Lee faces a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison for the firearm conviction, and that term by law must be served consecutively to whatever sentence he receives on the bank robbery counts, according to the NYC Criminal Defense Guide. Federal law strips judges of the discretion to run that sentence concurrently with underlying felonies.
Separately, the underlying bank robbery charges are distinct from the firearm conviction. Data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission cited by Guest & Gray shows roughly 2,500 defendants are convicted annually under the same firearm statute nationwide, with offenders serving an average sentence of 138 months.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Federal Courts
Lee's case is not an isolated one for the Eastern District. In a separate prosecution under Nocella, prosecutors secured a guilty plea in July from David Ortiz for brandishing a firearm during a broad-daylight Brinks armored truck robbery that stole $542,000 intended for a Queens Bank of America branch, according to BKReader.
The prosecution also has a broader national context. It remains unclear when Lee is scheduled to be sentenced or what total prison term prosecutors will recommend under federal guidelines.
