Bank robber gets multiple life sentences

A man who used a gun to rob three banks in a two- month period was sentenced this week to life in prison for each bank he robbed, authorities said.

Dwayne Edward

Rasmussen, 56, of Oklahoma City was convicted by a jury in January of robbing two banks in Oklahoma City and one in Chickasaw.

On Wednesday, U. S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron sentenced Rasmussen to three life terms and ordered that they be served at the same time.

The judge ordered Rasmussen to pay nearly $38,000 in restitution.

"We will continue to bring charges against perpetrators of violence who violate federal law," U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing said in a news release. "Through this case and others like it, the Department of Justice is deterring future violence, protecting those in our communities, and safeguarding the integrity of financial systems in the United States."

In January, a jury found Rasmussen guilty of three counts of bank robbery. Jurors also acquitted him of one count of bank robbery. Evidence presented at Rasmussen's trial showed that he wore gloves and disguised his appearance to avoid apprehension and used a firearm during the robberies.

Bank surveillance video and identifications by bank employees also tied the defendant to each robbery, authorities said.

Rasmussen's accomplice, Mark Drew Wilson, testified about driving the getaway vehicle and preparing for each robbery, authorities said. In February, Wilson was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiracy to commit bank robbery.