An Atlanta man has been sentenced for an attempted armed bank robbery in which he and a teller were injured, authorities announced Monday.
Gerry Sanders was sentenced to 14 years and six months in prison for the attempted armed robbery of a Citizens Trust Bank in Decatur in September 2012.
According to acting U.S. attorney John Horn and court information, Sanders burst through the front doors of the bank and pointed what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun while approaching a bank teller. He pushed aside a customer and said, “Give me all the hundreds you have,” while pointing the weapon at the teller. Sanders also pushed a light-colored pillow case through the window.
As the teller put cash from her drawer into the pillow case, the bank security guard told Sanders to drop the gun. Sanders turned, pointed his weapon at the guard and moved toward him. The guard fired several shots, striking Sanders in the leg. A bullet also grazed the leg of a bank teller.
After Sanders was arrested, the weapon he used was determined to be a toy gun.
“This defendant’s use of a toy gun during an armed bank robbery led the security guard of the bank to fire his weapon several times, seriously harming not only the defendant, but also a bank teller,” Horn said.
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