A man with a history of robbery convictions over more than three decades has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison under California's "three-strikes" law.
Michael Neal Johnson, 53, was convicted of robbing the downtown River City Bank in Sacramento on Jan. 25, 2012, and was found to have committed three prior bank robberies. He was sentenced Thursday by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Gary Mullen.
Johnson's criminal record dates back to a 1980 robbery conviction when he was a juvenile in Santa Clara, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.
In 1983, he was convicted of possession of stolen property. In 1985, he was convicted of robbing a savings and loan and was federally prosecuted in the Eastern District of California.
In November and December 1992, Johnson robbed a total of eight banks in the Sacramento, San Francisco and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., areas, officials said.
On May 11, 1993, Johnson was sentenced to 171 months in federal prison for the string of 1992 bank robberies.
Officials said he escaped from federal custody about two months before he committed the River City Bank robbery in Sacramento last January.
– Cathy Locke
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