Paroled New York murderer sentenced for coastal Georgia bank robbery

A New York man will spend the next 6½ years in federal prison for robbing a Brunswick bank in October 2019.

Lionel Valenzuela, 55, was sentenced to 78 months in prison on one count of bank robbery. After serving the jail sentence, he must serve three years of supervised release.

Valenzuela admitted robbing the Ameris Bank. He threatened the clerk by saying he had a firearm and demanding money. Valenzuela then ran from the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash. He was captured by Brunswick police officers after a citizen identified him. While the cash from the robbery was recovered, no weapon was found.