Truck Driver Facing Federal Charges After Zebulon Bank Robbery, Shootout With Arresting Officers

RALEIGH – A United States Magistrate Judge signed a complaint on December 27 charging Willie Edward Mcgee, Jr. with bank robbery and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

According to the complaint, on December 26, 2025, Mcgee allegedly entered a First Citizens Bank in Zebulon and demanded that the bank teller give him money under the threat of exploding C-4. The teller gave Mcgee $3,234 in cash, and Mcgee fled the bank.

Officers responded to the bank and began investigating the robbery. Surveillance footage reportedly depicted Mcgee leaving the scene of the robbery in a semi-truck. Later that day, Rocky Mount Police located the semi-truck in a Hobby Lobby parking lot in Rocky Mount. Police officers were surveilling the semi-truck when Mcgee exited the semi-truck armed with a Ruger AR 5.56 rifle. Mcgee immediately began firing at the officers. Officers returned fire and struck Mcgee.

While taking Mcgee into custody, officers recovered the AR rifle he used to shoot at officers and a handgun from Mcgee’s waistband. Several items reportedly worn by or used by Mcgee during the robbery were later recovered from the semi-truck.

Thankfully, no law enforcement officers or members of the public were injured during the arrest. Additionally, bomb technicians from the FBI and SBI responded, secured the scene, and ensured no explosive devices were present.

“As alleged, this defendant didn’t just rob a bank – he threatened innocent civilians with explosives and then opened fire on police officers,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “That is not desperation, it is domestic terror. Thanks to the extraordinary courage and professionalism of our law enforcement partners, he is alive, in custody, and facing decades in federal prison. Let this serve as a warning: if you bring violence into our communities or target the men and women who protect them, this Department of Justice will meet you with the full weight of the federal government and ensure you are removed from the streets for a very long time.”

“When bad guys shoot at our law enforcement partners, we will aggressively pursue federal charges against them. Brave officers in Rocky Mount, and across the nation, regularly put their lives on the line to protect and serve,” said United States Attorney Ellis Boyle. “We honor them and will do everything we can to make sure that they go home to their families at the end of each shift. We intend to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt that this man robbed a bank and shot his gun during and related to that crime of violence. God bless the brave men and women who responded, and rest assured, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina has your back.”

The federal complaint charges Mcgee with armed bank robbery and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on the bank robbery charge and a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, on the discharging a firearm charge.

The FBI, ATF, NC SBI, Zebulon Police Department, and Rocky Mount Police Department are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aria Merle, Charles Loeser, and Tyler Lemons are prosecuting the case.

This investigation is ongoing.