‘Polite’ Bank Robber Who Didn’t Threaten Death to Be Resentenced

A man convicted of robbing one bank and attempting to rob another, using polite notes and no mention of a weapon, shouldn’t have received a sentence enhancement for making threats of death, the Eleventh Circuit ruled Nov. 26.

All robberies under the federal bank-robbery statute necessarily involve some threat of harm, the appeals court said. And treating all threats as threats of death would defeat the distinction created by the sentencing-enhancement provision, the court said.

The appeals court sent the case back to the district court for resentencing.

Roberto Arturo Perez went to two banks within a week, according to ...