Ronald A. Brown
A federal judge sentenced a 38-year-old homeless man dubbed the "bomb bandit" to 10 years in prison for robbing one bank and trying to hold up three others in 2008 by threatening bank employees with fake explosives.
Ronald A. Brown, who was indicted and later pleaded guilty to four felony counts of robbery and attempted robbery, was sentenced Monday morning by U.S. District Court Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg in Philadelphia.
Police nabbed Brown after he robbed M&T Bank in Wheatland Shopping Center on Columbia Avenue on Dec. 29, 2008 — a heist in which he used a simulated explosive to intimidate employees and steal $19,294.
Brown tried to make his escape on foot but was captured while he was still carrying a bag of cash. He admitted to detectives that he also robbed banks in Lancaster and Manheim townships in the days leading up to the M&T robbery.
During each heist, police said, Brown threatened employees with phoned-in threats or fake bombs he made from trash found on the street. Bomb squads determined all of them to be harmless.
In addition to the M&T Bank, Brown admitted trying to rob:
• Fulton Bank at 1216 Millersville Pike on Dec. 24.
• PNC Bank at 949 E. King St. on Dec. 26, 2008.
• Fulton Bank at 38 McGovern Ave., also on Dec. 26, 2008.
Brown has a lengthy criminal record, including prior convictions for robbery, burglary and theft dating to 1989. He was sentenced to 7 to 14 years in state prison in 2001 for robberies in East Hempfield and Lancaster city.
He served seven years of that term and was paroled in 2008. But because he violated the terms of his parole by committing the bank robbery, Brown first will be first required to serve the balance of his state sentence before his 10-year federal term begins, meaning he will likely spend the next 17 years incarcerated.
"He's in for a very long time," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Miller.
Brown faced a potential 15-year federal sentence but prosecutors agreed with the defendant that he is working to change his life.
"Mr. Brown has done a significant number of things indicating that he's on a path toward rehabilitation," Miller said. "That would include drug counseling, a commitment to get rid of what has been reportedly a long-standing addiction problem for him. He's also going through some mental-health counseling."
Evaluation and clinical interviews with Brown after his arrest for the 2008 robberies and attempts found he had a long and extensive history of drug and alcohol abuse. Brown told a psychologist he was sexually assaulted in prison and began snorting heroin shortly thereafter.
The addiction only intensified with time, he said.
When Brown was paroled and released from prison on Dec. 22, 2008, he did not go to his assigned halfway house, according to the evaluation. He instead returned to the street and resumed heroin use, deciding to try and rob banks to support his habit.
"At that time in his life, he really did not care if he lived or died," according to an evaluation written by Dr. Alex. M. Siegel. "All he was trying to do was get away from his underlying feelings which were controlling his behavior. In essence, his drug and alcohol use began to control everything he did."
Brown pleaded guilty in August to one count each of armed bank robbery and attempted bank robbery, and two counts of attempted armed bank robbery, all felonies.
The analysis said Brown "understands he is an addict and can no longer use any substances for fear that they will continue to control him, as they have done in the past. Mr. Brown stated he is willing to do whatever it takes to continue to turn his life around and maintain a life free from drugs and alcohol dependence."
Brown was raised in Landisville and attended Hempfield High School. He dropped out his senior year, according to the evaluation, but later got his GED in prison.