ST. LOUIS, MO (November 16, 2023) — Pierre Lamont Richmond was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday for initiating a shoot-out with police during an attempted robbery of the Currency Exchange, 900 North Grand Boulevard, on February 13, 2022.

Richmond, 35, walked into the Currency Exchange and handed the clerk a note on which he had written, “5,000 NOW Good Friend.” When the clerk did nothing, Richmond pulled a gun and demanded that she give him whatever cash was available. The clerk told him she did not have access to cash without approval from her manager, went to a back office, called 911 and hid until police arrived.

After waiting for several minutes for the clerk to return, Lamont became impatient and left the building. When he saw police in the parking lot, he started shooting at them. Police officers returned fire, hitting Richmond in his right side, paralyzing him. No officers were injured. Richmond also shot a parked car in which an 11-year-old girl was hiding while her grandmother was in the bank; the girl was not physically injured.

Richmond pleaded guilty to two counts of First-Degree Assault on a Police Officer and First- Degree Attempted Robbery. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Circuit Attorneys Sherry Wolk and Michael Ware.

“It is fortunate that this brazen attempt to rob a bank in broad daylight did not result in injuries to customers, bank personnel or police officers who responded to the 911 call,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “Our office is dedicated to prosecuting violent crimes, so that ordinary people can go about their daily business without fear of becoming victims.”

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