Officials say Karim Brown and Shiheem Brown took a selfie after robbing a bank in Fuqyay-Varina.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal jury has convicted a 32-year-old North Carolina man on multiple charges related to a month-long bank robbery spree after a selfie connected him to the crime scenes.
Karim Brown was found guilty Friday of one count of bank robbery, three counts of armed bank robbery, and three counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Brown carried out robberies in Hope Mills, Angier, Fuquay-Varina, and Fayetteville between December 2021 and January 2022.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Brown began the spree by robbing a PNC Bank in Hope Mills, where he demanded money from a teller and escaped with $4,674.
On Dec. 31, 2021, Brown robbed a First Bank in Angier after his accomplice, Shiheem Brown, was captured on surveillance footage scouting the location. During this robbery, Karim Brown brandished a firearm and stole $4,611, prosecutors said.
Two weeks later, on Jan. 14, 2022, he robbed a PNC Bank on Main Street in Fuquay-Varina while armed, taking $9,000.
The final robbery occurred at Fidelity Bank in Fayetteville, where Brown brandished a firearm with a laser sight and passed a note to the teller threatening to shoot her. Court records showed that Brown also pointed his weapon at a bank manager, ordering her to move to the teller counter while employees placed $15,336 in a bag.
Investigators broke the case when they tracked the vehicle used in the Fuquay-Varina robbery back to Shiheem and Karim Brown. In a key piece of evidence, Shiheem Brown took a selfie around seven minutes after the final robbery, showing himself driving while Karim Brown removed his disguise in the back seat.
Both men were arrested on Jan. 27, 2022, at separate locations in Fayetteville. During Shiheem Brown’s arrest, he threw a loaded firearm off an apartment balcony that matched the description of the weapon used in the robberies. Police also recovered $2,650 in cash.
Shiheem Brown previously pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. He was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison on Dec. 11, 2024.
Karim Brown faces a minimum of 31 years and a maximum of life in prison. His sentencing date has not yet been announced.
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