Wesley Todd McCracken, 42, of Myrtle Beach, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to 14 bank robberies in six different states, according to United States Attorney Bill Nettles.
Senior United States District Judge Weston Houck of Charleston accepted the plea and will impose sentence after reviewing a presentence report.
McCracken's first robbery was at a Wells Fargo Bank in Florence on October 24, 2011, Nettles said.
Over the next three months, he robbed 13 other banks in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, according to evidence presented in court.
During the robberies, McCracken wore a navy Nike baseball-style cap. After entering the bank he would hand the teller a note demanding cash in certain amounts or denominations while warning against giving him bait money or dye packs. Although McCracken never displayed any weapon, his notes usually stated that he had a gun, Nettles said.
McCracken was caught December 29, 2011, after robbing the South Carolina Bank and Trust in Georgetown.
As he left the bank, he was seen running through the parking lot while stuffing money in his pockets. Shortly afterwards, a dye pack within the stolen money exploded in his pocket. Two officers driving by saw the smoke from the dye pack and saw McCracken jump into his vehicle. They arrested him.
McCracken admitted to all of the bank robberies after being shown bank security camera photos from each of the robberies, Nettles said.
The maximum penalty McCracken can receive for each bank robbery is a fine of $250,000 and/or imprisonment for 20 years.
