Florence, S.C. (WPDE) — A Federal Grand Jury indicted Brandon Council on three counts connected to the deadly CresCom bank robbery in August, according to a news release.
Council was indicted for armed bank robbery resulting in death, felon in possession of a firearm, and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death of a person in such a manner to constitute murder.
United States Attorney Beth Drake said Council could receive life without the possibility of parole or death on two of the three counts.
Police say Council killed Donna Major, 59, of Conway, and Kathryn "Katie" Skeen, 36, of Green Sea, during the incident.
Council will be arraigned on the indictment by a United States Magistrate Judge at the McMillan Federal Courthouse in Florence, South Carolina, in the coming weeks, according to the release.
Drake detailed what the indictment sent to the jury stated:
The indictment alleges that on August 21, 2017, Defendant Brandon Michael Council planned to enter CresCom Bank to rob the bank and kill its employees. Shortly after entering the bank, Defendant Brandon Michael Council drew a revolver and shot bank teller Donna Major multiple times. Defendant Brandon Michael Council then ran into a nearby office where he shot bank manager Kathryn Skeen as she sheltered under her desk. Defendant Brandon Michael Council then proceeded to take more than $15,000 in cash from the bank before fleeing.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Conway Police Department, Horry County Police Department, Myrtle Beach Police Department, Horry County Sheriff’s Office, Wilson North Carolina Police Department, Greenville North Carolina Police Department, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, and the United States Marshal’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys JD Rowell and Jay N. Richardson of the Columbia office are prosecuting the case.
The United States Attorney stated that all charges in Indictments are merely accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.