Suspect in Conway bank heist, murders pleads not guilty

Brandon Michael Council, the man accused of killing two employees of CresCom Bank in Conway on Aug. 21, entered a plea of not guilty in federal court on Tuesday, according to court documents.

Federal prosecutors have charged Council, 32, with one count of death as a result of a bank robbery and two weapons violations in connection with the robbery that left Kathryn “Katie” Davis Skeen, 36, and Donna Major, 59, dead.

Council entered a not guilty plea in the federal courthouse in Florence Tuesday afternoon, according to court filings. He has also waived his right to a bond hearing.

He was arrested in Greenville, N.C. on Aug. 23. Council, a native of Wilson, N.C., is accused of killing the two women during a bank heist.

[Death sentence option on the table for suspect in deadly Conway bank robbery]

Affidavits filed by law enforcement claim that Council entered the bank around 1:10 p.m. and had a short conversation with one teller before shooting her. He then allegedly jumped over the bank counter, found the second victim hiding under a desk, and shot her multiple times.

The bank robbery is the deadliest in the United States since 2014, according to FBI statistics.

[Conway bank robbery one of the country’s deadliest in recent years]

Citing a bank audit, the affidavits said Council tookl $15,294 from the CresCom location, as well as both victims’ car keys.

Council also face charges for an Aug. 10 heist at a BB&T in Wilson, N.C.

Nobody was injured during that episode.

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Suspect in Conway bank heist, murders pleads not guilty."