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Newport News man pleads guilty to role in 2 bank robberies

Posted at 4:15 PM, Dec 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-19 16:15:03-05

Russell Hudgins

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man pleaded guilty Wednesday to his role in two May 2018 bank robberies.

Russell Hudgins, 34, and his co-defendant, Roscoe Freeman, 33, were arrested after allegedly conspiring to rob two banks in the Tidewater area.

On May 16, Hudgins went into Citizens and Farmers Bank in Yorktown wearing a black knit cap, a tattoo sleeve and a fake brown beard.  Court documents say that he made a verbal demand for money from the teller, saying, “You know what time it is. Give me 10s, 20s and large.”

The total loss to the bank was $1,786.00.

Two days later, Hudgins entered Old Point National Bank in Isle of Wight County wearing a tattoo sleeve and a beard. Hudgins demanded all the money in the teller’s drawer and left the bank with $1,629 and a GPS tracker.

In both robberies, Freeman acted as a getaway driver. Freeman was apprehended by law enforcement after a vehicle pursuit, while Hudgins ran away from the scene and hid from police until he was caught at his residence later that day.

Hudgins was previously convicted in 2007 of armed carjacking and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and was on federal supervision at the time of the robberies. Hudgins has also previously been convicted of grand larceny, contempt of court and hit and run.

Hudgins pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery and faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison when sentenced on April 15, 2019.