Pease could be in more trouble for bank heist
A man who robbed Cumberland Bank last year could be looking at double time as local prosecutors say they will try him even though he is already serving time for the robbery in federal prison.
The suspect, Russell Pease, 36, is presently serving a seven-year sentence in federal prison for the robbery of Cumberland Bank in Plaza Shopping Center last fall. Pease was caught shortly after he robbed the bank at gunpoint, fleeing with over $14,000.
The suspect was tracked after his tag number was taken down by a witness as he fled the scene. Pease had also reportedly once been a customer of the bank. He was caught near a phone booth in Sparta.
Pease reportedly told police he planned to give the money to his children. His wife maintained Pease was suicidal and had planned to have police shoot him during the heist.
What followed next was a sentence on the federal level in which Pease was given seven years. However, at the same time, charges of aggravated robbery were never waived in Warren County and District Attorney General Dale Potter says he intends to proceed with a trial for Pease next June.
“This was a local case, worked by local officers and cherry picked by federal prosecutors,” Potter said. “We intend to try Mr. Pease, regardless of what his status is with federal officials.”
Potter said trying Pease here would not constitute double jeopardy since there are two different jurisdictions at work. Potter pointed to the Mandel Lee Martin robbery several years ago in which Martin was convicted and sentenced on the federal level for robbing the Northgate Branch of First National Bank of $110,000 and then was sentenced locally.
If convicted here, Pease could face eight to 12 years in prison; however, at that point, it would be up to the court to decide if his sentence would run in addition to his federal time.