Bank robber, 71, tells judge he hopes to be a lesson to others
Federal prosecutors portrayed the 71- year- old convicted bank robber as a continuing menace to society— violent and still capable of “alarming conduct” such as attacking prison staff with a shank and “shooting off a man’s scalp for no reason.”
But in his own court filings, the attorney for Robert C. Stiver said the McKeesport native was in declining health, suffered from various physical and mental ailments and was not the same man as when he used a gun to rob banks in Shaler and Harmar in 2016.
When it came time to sentence Stiver on Tuesday, U. S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon sent him to federal prison for 6 ½ years — the low end of the sentencing guidelines, and what defense attorney Jon Pushinsky had sought. The judge then tacked on another 33 months, however, for having committed crimes while on federal supervised release.
Stiver had been sentenced to 25 years after a 1992 conviction for heroin trafficking and was on supervised release when he robbed the banks.
“I sincerely apologize for the trauma I caused bank employees in 2016,” Stiver told Judge Bissoon. During his sentencing, he was apologetic and struggled to hold back tears. “I go to sleep every night with the feeling of
shame, and I wake up every morning with it.”
Stiver robbed Allegheny Valley Bank in Shaler on Nov. 2, 2016, and First Commonwealth Bank in Harmar on Dec. 9, 2016. He pleaded guilty in April.
Stiver used a gun to intimidate bank employees in both 2016 incidents. He stole roughly $ 2,063 from Allegheny Valley Bank and about $ 5,732 from the First Commonwealth Bank, according to court filings.
Police arrested Stiver on Dec. 10, 2016, at Pittsburgh International Airport as he waited to board a flight to Pompano Beach, Fla., where he was living.
In court Tuesday, Stiver described more than “half a century” worth of incarceration resulting from drug use.
“My behavior was dictated by my addiction,” he said.
Stiver told Judge Bissoon that he was first introduced to drugs in 1965, and now, for the first time in his adult life, he has been clean for nearly three years.
He first became a convicted felon in 1966, and his criminal record includes burglary, prison breach, perjury, counterfeiting, aggravated assault, robbery and serious narcotics offenses, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors noted Stiver’s criminal history and warned that a long sentence was necessary to keep him from what they described as “almost unbridled recidivism for over 50 years.”
“Stiver was convicted of armed bank robbery in which he robbed two separate banks by brandishing a large revolver in the face of multiple bank employees. These are inherently dangerous and violent offenses. Further these offenses have a severe and traumatic effect on each victim. There is also an extreme need to deter and incapacitate Stiver,” prosecutors wrote.
“Nothing has deterred Stiver from committing violent offenses. Even after being released from his last prior major offense while in his 60s, Stiver committed these offenses to net a few thousand dollars. Stiver must be given a sentence that will forever prevent him from committing these offenses again.”
Mr. Pushinsky said his client has deteriorated physically and mentally in the past three years. Long- term drug addiction coupled with Stiver’s prison stays over the years have left him with post- traumatic stress disorder, Mr. Pushinsky told Judge Bissoon.
Stiver also suffered physical, mental and emotional abuse by alcoholic parents when he was a child, according to court documents. Mr. Pushinsky wrote that Stiver’s father was a sometime professional wrestler who once punched him hard enough to break a rib — an injury that still bothers him.
In his old age, Stiver suffers from a number of physical ailments including basal cell carcinoma in his eyelids, diabetes, asthma, limited use of his right hand from having two fingers crushed in a work accident, and sciatic pain.
Stiver said Tuesday he “didn’t want to die in prison.”
Judge Bissoon wished Stiver well and said she hopes he succeeds with various counseling and rehabilitation programs.
Earlier this year, Stiver completed a re- entry program at Northeast Ohio Correctional facility. He said he wants to share his story to discourage people from taking his path.
“I just want to be clean and walk free,” Stiver said. “I want to be of service to others ... and persuade them not to do what I’ve done.”
Stiver will be on supervised release for five years after finishing his prison sentence; he was credited with time served.
He also must pay $ 7,795 in restitution.