Man sentenced to 41 months in prison for Lake Forest bank robbery
A bank robber who stole more than $200,000 from a branch in a Lake Forest supermarket was sentenced Monday to more than three years in prison.
U.S. District Judge James V. Selna ordered Tyler Brown, 37, to serve 41 months in prison.
His wife, Samantha Brown, got time served for being as an accessory after the fact. Each was ordered to pay $63,000 in restitution.
According to a plea deal, Tyler Brown on Sept. 24, 2018 escaped with $202,036 from a Wells Fargo branch in a Stater Bros. supermarket in the 22300 block of El Toro Road.
He had entered the bank with a cane and a black sling over one arm and left with a cardboard box full of cash. It does not appear that he had a gun.
Still, he pushed a teller and ordered her to open the bank vault, saying, “Hurry up, get in there and open it, or I’m going to shoot somebody,” prosecutors said.
Samantha Brown wasn’t accused of being directly involved in the robbery itself, but federal prosecutors say that she and her husband “safeguarded” the stolen money, using part of it to pay their rent.
During his sentencing, Tyler Brown apologized to family members – a half-dozen attended the hearing – as well as to the robbery victims.
“I am deeply sorry,” Brown said. “I am embarrassed and ashamed, and I will regret what I did for the rest of my life.”
In a written sentencing brief filed with the court, Tyler Brown’s attorney, John Barton, noted that both husband and wife have battled serious heroin addictions: Tyler Brown was born addicted, because of his mother’s heroin use, and began using the drug himself by the time he was a teenager; he kicked his addiction then relapsed after being prescribed opiates following a car accident.
Selna acknowledged that Brown had taken steps to address his addiction while in custody, as well as to educate himself. The judge urged him to continue those efforts while serving his prison sentence.
“I think you know what you need to do, and you will have the tools to do it,” Selna said.