He used a note to rob Gautier credit union, 2 other banks in multi-state crime spree

A Hattiesburg man admitted to robbing multiple banks in a multi-state crime spree, including a credit union in Gautier.

Clifford Randell Montague, 53, pleaded guilty to bank robbery Friday before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden in Gulfport, according to a release from the Department of Justice.

On Feb. 23, Montague handed a note to a teller a Gautier credit union. The note said he would shoot if money wasn’t put in a bag, according to U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Michelle Sutphin, special agent in charge of the FBI in Mississippi.

Montague robbed two banks in March, according to the release: A bank in Pace, Florida, on March 4 and a bank in Ellisville, Mississippi, on March 18. He also used a note during each of those robberies.

Montague was later stopped in Memphis while driving a car stolen from Florida and confessed about the robberies to FBI agents.

Ozerden will sentence Montague on Nov. 25. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The FBI Safe Streets Task Force investigated the case that is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette Williams.