8 years for ‘clown’ robber
Florida man denies he held up city bank
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/10/2013 (4536 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A Florida man who robbed a Transcona credit union while wearing a bizarre clown costume has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Minutes after provincial court Judge John Guy convicted Rondell McGarrett Johnson on Tuesday of robbery, wearing a disguise and public mischief, Johnson chose to go immediately to sentencing.
The 40-year-old has been in custody since Dec. 18, 2012, the same day he strolled into the Crosstown Civic Credit Union on Regent Avenue West disguised in clownish garb and robbed the bank of thousands in cash while brandishing an imitation handgun.
Police tracked Johnson down to a secluded area south of the bank where officers saw him walking along some rail tracks in normal-looking clothes.
After his arrest, officers located a duffel bag near where he had been walking. It was stuffed with the garments and other items he used to disguise himself.
Johnson pleaded not guilty and continues to maintain his innocence, as he has from the moment police arrested him.
“You got the wrong person,” he told the arresting officer.
Guy said after looking at the circumstances of the case and the timing of events, there was no other logical conclusion but that Johnson was the robber.
Guy found there was ample evidence of planning, and agreed with Crown attorney Mark Kantor’s request for a federal prison sentence in the eight-to-10-year range.
Guy credited Johnson for 10 months of time served awaiting trial, reducing his sentence to just over seven years.
Johnson has a criminal history in the United States going back to 1991. His record includes two convictions for drug-trafficking, each of which netted him prison terms of more than three years. He will be extradited once his Canadian sentence concludes.
james.turner@freepress.mb.ca