A man described by prosecutors as a career criminal has been sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for bank robbery.
Rome Robert Dennis, 45, was convicted by a jury June 13 of two counts of second-degree robbery, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office news release. He was sentenced Friday by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Sharon Lueras.
On Jan. 29, 2015, Dennis went to the Chase bank on Florin Road and requested assistance from an employee for a “charged off” account. Once he was seated at the banker’s desk, he wrote a note on a business card stating that this was a robbery and demanding money. He told the victim not to press anything, not to do anything stupid and to stay calm because he had a gun and a bomb that could explode.
The victim did not have cash at his work station, so he approached a fellow employee and told him that they were being robbed. Dennis then approached both employees, threatened them and demanded money, authorities said. The employees complied and gave him nearly $3,000 in cash.
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Dennis left the bank, but he was apprehended by law enforcement officers about a mile away.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Dennis has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1990, including two prior strike convictions under California’s “three strikes” law – for assault with intent to commit rape and attempted robbery. He also has prior convictions for the sale and transportation of a controlled substance, recklessly fleeing from police, failing to register as a sex offender and indecent exposure. Dennis has been returned to prison multiple time for parole violations.
Cathy Locke: 916-321-5287, @lockecathy
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