Serial bank robber sentenced to 20 years
Man admits to 5 bank robberies and attempting another
A federal judge sentenced an Albuquerque man to 20 years in prison for robbing several northeast-area banks in just over a week in August 2016.
U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Elizabeth Martinez said in a Wednesday news release that Christopher Baum, 37, was charged with six counts of bank robbery.
“Is any amount of money worth the next 20 years of your life in prison?” said Terry Wade, special agent in charge of the Albuquerque FBI Division. “Christopher Baum is going to have a lot of time to ask himself that question. Anyone else thinking about sticking up a bank should ask it, too.”
According to the news release, the Albuquerque Police Department and the FBI arrested Baum in 2016 and charged him with robbing four banks, and attempting to rob another, between Aug. 16 and 24.
Baum entered a guilty plea in November 2016, admitting to robbing five banks and attempting to rob another, according to the release.
According to the release, Baum told authorities in the final robbery on Aug. 30, he drew a pistol on a bank teller at a Bank of the West on Juan Tabo NE.
“Robbing a bank not only carries a significant prison term, but it also can put innocent lives at risk,” Wade said.
Baum, who had three prior bank robbery convictions, was prosecuted under the “worst of the worst” initiative, according to the news release. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the initiative targets offenders for federal prosecution based on criminal history “with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.”
Baum will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.