Bank Robber Draws 46 Months In Prison

Tue., July 21, 1998

From Staff Reports

A 39-year-old Spokane Valley man was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison on Monday for robbing the Opportunity Pines Branch of the Washington Trust Bank in January.

William J. Lawrence must also serve three years of supervised release under the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge William Nielsen.

Lawrence robbed the bank at 100 N. Pines on Jan. 6, getting $952 from a teller.

He contacted the FBI on March 8, after a photo of him inside the bank was published in The Spokesman-Review. Later that week, Lawrence confessed to the crime.

Lawrence robbed the bank after gambling away his rent money. He now attends Gamblers’ Anonymous. He told Judge Nielson, “This is the first time in my life that I’ve been able to address my gambling problem.”

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