Three Rowan County men have pleaded guilty in connection with a 2012 train robbery.
Altise Shaheed Bridges, 25, of China Grove, and William James Johnson Jr., 20, of Salisbury, pleaded guilty to train robbery. Kenyad Laquan Kelly, 19, of Salisbury, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to train robbery.
According to court documents, two masked men carrying firearms climbed aboard a Norfolk Southern train traveling from Columbia, S.C., to Asheville on April 29, 2012, while the train was stopped at the station in Salisbury for a crew change.
When the robbers entered the engine car, one of them brandished a shotgun while another had a revolver. The robbers demanded money from the train engineer and conductor and took cash and a wallet before fleeing. Subsequent investigation determined Bridges and Johnson committed the robbery and that Kelly assisted in destroying and hiding evidence.
Bridges and Johnson each face up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised probation. Kelly faces up to 10 years in prison, a $125,000 fine and three years of supervised probation.
Sentencing for Bridges and Johnson is set for March 25, 2014. Kelly’s sentencing is set for March 19, 2014.
The case was investigated by the Salisbury Police Department, the Norfolk Southern Police Department, and the FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Meinecke in U.S. District Court.