JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — On Monday, a Florissant man admitted to a 2020 crime spree in which he robbed three banks, led police on a chase, shot at deputies and forced his way into a woman's apartment at gunpoint.
Editor's note: The video above was published on Oct. 28, 2020.
Cameron Thomas, 31, pleaded guilty in front of a federal judge to a count of bank robbery, two counts of armed bank robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, discharging a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, and two counts of possessing a firearm as a felon.
The bank robberies occurred over the course of several days in October 2020. According to the U.S. State's Attorney for Missouri's Eastern District, Thomas admitted he entered the First Community Bank on Oct. 24 while dressed as a woman and handed the teller a note that said "put money in the bag."
Three days later, Thomas entered Electro Saving Credit Union in St. Louis County, again dressed as a woman, pointed a semiautomatic pistol at a teller and said, "Give me all your money." He then put cash in a purse and ran.
Three days later, Thomas returned to the First Community State Bank, this time wearing a surgical mask, pointed a pistol at an employee and said, "This is a robbery, put your hands up." He then made another employee fill up a white plastic bag and left in a Mercedes Benz.
A Jefferson County Sheriff's deputy in the area tried to stop him and he fled, leading deputies on a pursuit that ended at the Walden Pond Apartment in High Ridge. Thomas got out and ran, firing multiple shots at deputies, prosecutors said.
Thomas then entered an apartment building, forced a woman at gunpoint into her home and then barricaded himself inside, according to the release. Deputies knocked at her door and pulled her outside to safety when she signaled something was wrong. Inside the apartment, Thomas had changed into her clothes and hide his pistol. He was arrested without further incident.
Thomas also admitted on Monday that he had possessed an assault rifle two days before the robbery, which had been found after a traffic crash.
His sentencing is set for Nov. 9. The discharge of a firearm and branding charges carry mandatory minimum sentences of 10 and seven years, respectively, and are to be served consecutively to any other charges.
Thomas, a convicted felon, had previously been sentenced in 2012 to 10 years in prison for second-degree robbery.