A Newport News man who stole a sedan and license plates from his own car rental employer to carry out a string of armed bank robberies has been sentenced to 38 years and six months in federal prison. Tyrone K. Jefferson, 39, was sentenced Thursday after a federal jury convicted him in April on charges including bank robbery, bank robbery with a dangerous weapon, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents cited by WAVY.com, Jefferson worked for a car rental company and stole several license plates and a sedan from his employer, which he then used in February 2025 to rob a credit union and two other banks. During each robbery, Jefferson allegedly threw a bag to tellers and demanded they fill it with cash, brandishing a firearm during two of the heists. Court records reported by The Washington Times show Jefferson went a step further than most robbers, explicitly warning tellers not to slip dye packs or electronic tracking devices into the bag along with the money.
A Traffic Stop That Backfired
Jefferson's spree nearly ended on February 27, 2025, when Newport News Police attempted to pull over his stolen sedan. Instead of stopping, Jefferson fled at high speed, abandoned the vehicle, and escaped on foot — but according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, he left behind personal mail and court documents bearing his own name inside the car, handing investigators a direct link to the getaway vehicle.
That setback didn't stop him. Department of Justice trial records indicate Jefferson went on to commit a fourth bank robbery on March 1, 2025 — listed as March 7 in initial indictment press releases — brandishing a firearm at a credit union and forcing two tellers to fill a bag with cash before fleeing on foot again.
Caught Returning to the Casino
Federal court disclosures show Jefferson repeatedly visited Rivers Casino in Portsmouth in the weeks following his February robberies, driving the stolen rental sedan. Police eventually traced him back to that same casino on March 27, 2025, where he was apprehended while driving a second rental car registered in his own name. Officers recovered a stolen handgun, an extended magazine, a black balaclava mask, a traffic safety vest, and the stolen license plates used in the robberies from the vehicle.
Jefferson was legally barred from possessing a firearm or ammunition because of prior felony convictions. Department of Justice records show he had five previous felony convictions before his 2026 sentencing, including a 2018 conviction for assaulting a federal employee by macing a U.S. Navy police officer, a 2012 grand larceny conviction, a 2008 hit-and-run and stolen property conviction, and a 2006 conviction for eluding police and firearm possession by a felon.
Why the Sentence Topped 38 Years
Following his April 24, 2026 conviction, Jefferson faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 21 years and up to life in prison, the Department of Justice noted, before the court ultimately handed down the 38-year, six-month term. Much of that length comes from federal statute, not judicial discretion. Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison for a first offense, a term that by law must run consecutively to any sentence imposed for the underlying bank robbery charges, according to legal analysis from Eisner Gorin LLP.
The case was investigated jointly by the FBI's Norfolk Field Office, the Newport News Police Department, and the Henrico County Police Division.
