Macon man admits stealing more than $38,000 from credit unions, buying phones with cash.
A Macon man has admitted to robbing more than $38,000 from two banks, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia said Friday.
Felix Cordes pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery in front of Judge Marc Treadwell Thursday, admitting he robbed a Midsouth Community Federal Credit Union and a Central Georgia Regional Credit Union in Macon in 2022 and stole a total of $38,274 from them. Cordes faces up to 25 years in prison and could be ordered to pay a fine up to $250,000, prosecutors say.
Cordes and his accomplice, Larry Jerome Chapman, attempted to rob another MidSouth Community Federal Credit Union in Macon but were unsuccessful, as bank staff saw the two approaching the entrance with masks and a gun and locked down the bank.
Chapman was also indicted alongside Cordes for the bank robberies. He pleaded guilty last month to one count of accessory after the fact to bank larceny, court records show.
“Felix Cordes was a ruthless and relentless criminal who possibly could have killed innocent bank employees had he not been stopped by the diligent work of investigators,” Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said in a news release. “We can be grateful that justice has been served and he will be held accountable for spreading mayhem in our community.”
Robbers’ ‘final act thwarted by brave employees’
The first robbery Cordes committed was on April 5, 2022, when he stole $35,155 from the Midsouth Community Federal Credit Union. He disguised himself by wearing overalls, a bandana and sunglasses while brandishing a black handgun, telling the bank tellers to “take the money out,” according to prosecutors.
He went behind the counter, pulled cash out of two drawers, placed them in a bag and left the store as bank tellers experienced panic attacks, they said.
Cordes used $300 of the stolen money to buy two cell phones from Boost Mobile at the Baconsfield Shopping Center, according to court documents.
He then robbed a second business a month later, on May 5, 2022, at Central Georgia Regional Credit Union with Chapman. During this robbery, Cordes wore blue latex gloves and stole $3,119, court records show.
Both of them attempted to rob another MidSouth Community Federal Credit Union, but were unsuccessful because bank tellers locked the bank after they saw the men approaching the bank masked, with Cordes brandishing a silver handgun.
Cordes was arrested after law enforcement executed a search warrant, where officers found the bandanna matching the one that was captured on video during the first robbery, blue latex gloves that Cordes wore during the second robbery, cellphone boxes from Boost mobile and a box of 9 mm ammunition.
The FBI investigated the case alongside the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
“Bank tellers were terrified when Felix Cordes walked into their workplace and threatened them with a firearm, a scene he replayed again and then attempted a third time, his final act thwarted by brave credit union employees who saw him coming with a gun and quickly locked down the bank,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Individuals whose criminal actions terrorize our community will be held accountable for their crimes.”
