Pittsburgh Man Sentenced to Prison for Bank Robbery

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 70 months of imprisonment on his conviction of bank robbery, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Mark Laughner, 38, on September 4, 2025, and included an order that the defendant pay restitution to the bank.

According to the information presented to the Court, on May 16, 2024, Laughner entered a Reserve Township bank wearing a baseball cap and neck gaiter that covered his mouth and nose and instructed the teller to give him all of her large bills. After the teller handed over the $100 and $50 bills from her cash drawer, the defendant demanded that the teller provide more cash quickly or he would shoot her in her face. Laughner left the bank with $1,370 in U.S. currency and was ultimately identified through the utilization of surveillance recordings as well as witness interviews.

Allegheny County Police Department (ACPD) detectives obtained a warrant for Laughner's arrest, and, on May 20, 2024, attempted to apprehend the defendant when detectives observed him in the passenger seat of a vehicle outside of a Pittsburgh fire station. As detectives converged on the vehicle with their emergency lights activated, the driver exited the vehicle. Laughner jumped from the passenger side of the vehicle into the driver's seat and began fleeing detectives by driving in reverse at a high rate of speed. Ignoring multiple verbal commands to stop, Laughner came within inches of striking two ACPD detectives before stopping, exiting the vehicle in the middle of the street, and fleeing on foot. Using a police K-9 unit, law enforcement apprehended Laughner after finding him hiding in thick brush.

Assistant United States Attorney V. Joseph Sonson prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

The Allegheny County Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Laughner.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.