A Virginia man has pleaded guilty to two felonies in connection with a 2021 robbery of a Leesburg bank.
Kenneth W. Sencindiver, 66, of Winchester, admitted to two felonies: robbery with threat or intimidation and possession or transporting ammunition by a convicted felon. The plea agreement would cap his sentence at five years in prison.
According to the plea agreement and proffer of facts, on Nov. 19, 2021, Sencindiver handed the teller at the M&T Bank on East Market Street a note, demanding money and saying he had a gun.
Prosecutors said the note was written on graph paper and had been folded many times. The teller recalled that the note said: “I am armed; Give me all the money that’s in your drawer; do not put dye packs. I am not alone, there are people watching, they are ready to shoot or kill.”
The teller handed over $525, and Sencindiver left the bank. As he walked away, the teller saw the dye pack explode.
Investigators said Sencindiver’s son Kenneth II was waiting for him in a car.
Two days later, the pair was arrested after a car chase, which began in Frederick County, Virginia, passed through Clarke County, and ended in Purcellville, on the campus of Patrick Henry College.
A witness spotted the car the elder Sencindiver had been driving after the robbery. When a Purcellville police officer approached, Sencindiver let go of the straps of a bookbag that was sitting at his feet. Inside the bag was ammunition for a .38 special inside an ammunition box.
Sencindiver had an extensive criminal history and is a registered sex offender in Virginia. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to attempted rape in Winchester.
In the prior case, according to The Winchester Star, Sencindiver sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman in the dressing room of a thrift store, where she was trying on clothes. He was armed with a knife.
Sencindiver was initially charged with use of a firearm during a felony, two counts of transporting a weapon by a felon, and two other counts of possession of ammunition by a felon.
In 2021, the Virginia General Assembly created four classes of robbery and changed the types of punishment associated with the events of the robbery.
Since no gun was observed by the teller, and there were no other indications he was armed, other than the note, Loudoun County prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to prove the illegal use of a gun charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
In addition, prosecutors said regardless of how many guns or how much ammunition a convicted felon has, he can only be charged with one count of illegally possessing guns or ammunition.
Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Douglas Fleming delayed a ruling on whether to accept the plea until he reviews the sentencing guideline report, which is still to be produced. The case is set for sentencing in June.
A robbery charge against Sencindiver’s son was previously dismissed in District Court.
