Alleged Wells Fargo Bank Robber Had Long Criminal History

Just hours before a bustling summer First Friday got into full swing on Aug. 5 in Phoenixville, police allege that Karl Edwards, 52, , produced a note, and walked out with more than $10,000.

Edwards, of the 100 block of Bridge Street in Phoenixville, was taken into custody and charged with felony counts of robbery, theft and receiving stolen property. Edwards also faces misdemeanor drug charges for having small amounts of substances that field-tested positive for cocaine and marijuana on him at the time of arrest, according to police.

After a preliminary hearing on Aug. 11, terroristic threat charges were dismissed by District Justice Theodore Michaels, and bail was kept at half a million dollars cash.

“I have no inclination to modify bail at this time,” Michaels said, after the assistant district attorney noted Edwards’ “extensive” criminal history, which he said includes bank robberies.

Edwards was under court supervision as recently as July 14, and Edwards allegedly committed the Wells Fargo robbery on Aug. 5.

Most recently, Edwards served a sentence of 76 months in prison at Federal Correctional Institute Fairton in southern New Jersey after pleading guilty to federal charges of three felony counts of bank robbery. On July 14, 2011, Edwards’ term of supervised release for those charges was ordered to expire immediately, rather than on July 31 as originally planned.

Charges for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and driving without a license in East Vincent Township from 2002 are still to go before a judge, and a preliminary hearing on those charges is set for Aug. 18.

Here’s a timeline of some of the charges Edwards faced through the years:

July 7, 1981 (age 22), Philadelphia County

Charges: Robbery, two counts of theft, aggravated assault, simple assault, possessing instruments of crime, reckless endangerment, retail theft

Result: Pled guilty to retail theft and simple assault charges, sentenced to two years of probation

Feb. 3, 1982 (age 22), Philadelphia County

Charges: Robbery, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats, two counts of theft, simple assault, carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a firearm in a public place, criminal conspiracy

Result: Edwards was arrested on March 12, 1982. All charges were dropped by Lynne Abraham, the prosecutor for the case.

Nov. 13, 1992 (age 33), East Vincent Township

Charges: Possession with intent to deliver, marijuana possession, drug paraphernalia, drug possession

Result: Edwards pled guilty to the charge of possession with intent to deliver, and he was sentenced to five years of probation.

Oct. 12, 1994 (age 35), Phoenixville

Charges: Fraudulently obtaining food stamps

Result: Edwards was declared a fugitive and was arraigned in February 1997 on the charge. He pled guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation, a $10 fine and $2,364 in restitution, along with 75 hours of community service. He violated his probation and was sentenced to three more years of probation in July 1999, along with 100 hours of community service.

Nov. 29, 1996 (age 37), Phoenixville

Charges: Robbery with threat of immediate serious injury, threatening to commit robbery, robbery with threat of immediate bodily injury, theft, terroristic threats, receiving stolen property and simple assault

Result: Edwards pled not guilty and was sentenced to prison for 11.5 to 23 months on March 25, 1997, along with 150 hours of community service and the condition of not being allowed to enter the Quikstop in Phoenixville. Parole was granted on Jan. 16, 1998, and a bench warrant for parole violation was issued on May 26, 1999. Edwards was released on Oct. 13, 2000.

May 5, 1999 (age 39), Spring City

Charges: Burglary, theft, conspiracy to commit burglary, receiving stolen property

Result: Edwards was sentenced to six to 23 months in prison after pleading guilty to the conspiracy charge. Parole was granted on May 15, 2000, and a bench warrant for parole violation was issued on Sept. 28, 2000. He was released from custody on Oct. 13, 2000.

March 29, 2001 (age 41)

Charges: On this date, federal charges were filed for three counts of felony bank robbery.

Result: On July 24, 2001, the federal court in Philadelphia accepted the guilty plea for three felony counts of bank robbery. Edwards was sentenced to 76 months in prison and three years of supervised release, along with a special assessment fee of $300 and restitution to First Union bank of $3,519 and Commonwealth Bank for $1,649. 

On May 4, 2009, an order placed Edwards in a residential re-entry program for 60 days due to continued use of illegal substances. On Jan. 7, 2010, he was assigned to a residential re-entry program for 75 days due to drug use. He was ordered to report to U.S. Marshals to serve a seven-day prison sentence with 60 days of electronic monitoring on March 10, 2010.

On July 14, 2011, Edwards’ supervised release expired immediately on a court order. It was originally due to expire on July 31.

July 13, 2002 (age 43), East Vincent

Charges: Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, driving without a license

Result: Edwards was declared a fugitive on these charges on Aug. 9, 2002. A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 18, 2011, at 9 a.m. for the charges.