Damen Drakeford, 30, of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, was sentenced on March 7 to 7 years in prison for several bank robberies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam said Drakeford previously entered a guilty plea and admitted to committing four bank robberies in July 2023: two in Pennsylvania and two New Jersey.

Drakeford admitted to robbing:

• Fulton Bank, Netcong, New Jersey, July 7, 2023;

• Provident Bank, Fair Lawn, New Jersey, July 11, 2023;

• Fidelity Bank, Upper Mount Bethel Township, July 11, 2023, and;

• M&T Bank, Stroudsburg, July 14, 2023.

A total of $32,988 was taken in the robberies.

After the M&T Bank robbery in Stroudsburg, Drakeford was apprehended by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Stroud Area Regional Police Department, after he led the police on a high-speed vehicle chase, crashed his vehicle, and ran into the nearby woods where he was arrested by the police.

Drakeford was sentenced by District Court Judge Julia K. Munley.