A Michigan man who robbed Coast Hills Credit Union - and two days later attempted to rob a bank in Guadalupe pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal criminal charge.
Maurice Antwion Pilgrim Jr., 19, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery.
According to his plea agreement, on October 13, 2020, Pilgrim robbed Coast Hills Credit Union in Lompoc, netting $3,000 in the theft. Two days later, Pilgrim attempted to rob Mechanics Bank in Guadalupe by handing one of the tellers a note which read, "give me $5,000-$10,000 and no gets hurt."
Following the Guadalupe robbery attempt, Pilgrim led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit that ended with him crashing his getaway car near Vandenberg Air Force Base on Highway 1 where he attempted to flee on foot, but he was quickly apprehended.
Law enforcement said they recovered $552 from Pilgrim's car and $1,700 from his pockets that were proceeds of his robbery of Coast Hills Credit Union two days earlier.
Pilgrim is scheduled for sentencing on June 21. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
