Bank robbery was ‘crime of despair’ after years in prison, attorney says
Updated 4:04 PM;
Today 4:04 PM
A 48-year-old man was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for robbing a Grand Rapids bank. (MLive File Photo)
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GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A man who has spent much of his adult life locked up was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for robbing a Fifth Third Bank in Grand Rapids.
Kimatha Roderico Smith, 48, of Grand Rapids, was on supervised release in an earlier holdup when he robbed the bank at 700 Bridge St. NW, on Nov. 2.
He was desperate for cash. After finishing a lengthy prison sentence, he wasn’t equipped for a return to society, his attorney said.
Third bank robbery called ‘crime of despair,’ brings man 12½ years in prison
Kimathi Roderico Smith got $791 from a November bank robbery in Grand Rapids; he was on probation at the time for robbing a nearby bank in 2008.
Credit: Kent County Jail
Kimathi Smith was charged in the Nov. 2, 2020 robbery at a Fifth-Third branch on Bridge Street NW Author: John Hogan Updated: 4:15 PM EDT April 16, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. Months after his release from federal prison for bank robbery, Kimathi R. Smith found himself in the middle of a pandemic and struggling to survive.
So, he returned to old habits and robbed a bank.
Man pleads guilty in 3rd bank robbery
Updated Dec 14, 2020;
Posted Dec 14, 2020
A man faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to bank robbery. (MLive File Photo)
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Kimatha Roderico Smith pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a bank-robbery charge, a 20-year felony.
He was on supervised release Nov. 2 when he robbed the bank at 700 Bridge St. NW, court records showed. About $790 was taken, records showed.
Smith was earlier convicted of bank robbery in 2000 and sentenced to 80 months in prison. Eight years later, he was sentenced to 151 months in prison for another bank robbery.
Smith was arrested the day after the recent holdup. He told investigators he was the one shown in surveillance photos during the holdup.