SC man in wig disguise sentenced in Fort Mill bank robbery after mom calls police
A South Carolina man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of robbing a Fort Mill bank in a fake beard and wig after his mother called police and identified him.
After the jury verdict following a two-day trial in York County criminal court, Anthony Nathaniel Drayton admitted during sentencing he stole around $1,200 from the First Citizens Bank on S.C 160 near I-77 in September of 2023 but claimed he had the right to take the money, lawyers in the case said.
Drayton, 25, of Simpsonville in Greenville County, demanded money from a teller while wearing the disguise, then fled before he was arrested weeks later, according to police and prosecutors.
Fort Mill police issued a news release about the crime soon afterward with a surveillance photo showing the suspect.
Drayton’s mother called police over concerns about the crime and safety of her family, said 16th Circuit Senior Solicitor Matthew Hogge, who prosecuted the case along with Heather Burdette. She testified during the trial that the man in bank surveillance video wearing the disguise looked like her son, Hogge said.
Drayton’s sister also testified that Drayton showed her a Fort Mill Police Department press release about the crime afterward and admitted he was the culprit.
Records seized from a cellphone entered into trial evidence showed Drayton searched online for wigs, beards, and Fort Mill banks before the robbery, Hogge said.
Claims he had the right to steal the money
At sentencing after the guilty verdict, Drayton told York County Circuit Court Judge Bill Mckinnon he committed the crime, lawyers in the case said.
“He claimed he was entitled to it,” Hogge said of Drayton and the money.
Hogge asked McKinnon for a stiffer sentence of at least 20 years for the crime that carries up to 30 years in prison. Drayton was on parole from a North Carolina convenience store armed robbery at the time of the bank robbery, said Hogge and Drayton’s lawyer, Fred Davis of the 16th Circuit Public Defender’s office.
“He said he felt he had a right to do it if he needed money,” Davis said.
Davis said Drayton’s reasoning for the crime was “misguided” and he used “very poor judgment.”
Drayton is not eligible for parole on the 12-year sentence.
