Alabama judge cuts 67-year-old ailing robber no slack

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February 8, 2010

Anonymous The News Courier Mon Feb 08, 2010, 03:51 PM CST

MOBILE — A judge decided that a 67-year-old man who robbed two banks doesn’t deserve a softer sentence.

U.S. District Judge William Steele denied a defense attorney’s request for leniency and sentenced Vernon Lacey Riley Jr. to three years and five months in prison last week.

Riley robbed a bank in Mobile and another one in Birmingham last year, collecting a total of nearly $6,000 from the two.

Court records indicate that Riley suffered from coronary artery disease and underwent bypass surgery. He had not sought treatment because he could not afford health insurance. The records say he couldn’t get a job because of hearing loss.

His attorney says he turned to bank robbery to raise money for extensive dental work and a hearing aid.

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