'Winter Hat' Bank Robber Given 11-Year Prison Sentence
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A bank robber dubbed the "winter hat robber" received his sentence on Thursday after being found guilty earlier this year.
54-year-old Harrison Lewis III acted as his own lawyer during his trial and was found guilty. He defended himself again at sentencing, with similar results.
The judge sentenced Lewis to 11 years in prison and ordered he receive mental health care.
Different winter hats and sunglasses were the preferred disguise for Lewis.
He robbed nine banks in Howard and Baltimore Counties in late 2016-early 2017, before being caught.
At his trial in federal court in May, he was found guilty of six of those hold-ups.
Federal Jury Convicts Accused 'Winter Hat' Bank Robber
In each, he passed a note demanding money.
In three of those notes, he wrote a partner was outside with a gun if the teller refused.
That threat of death didn't help Lewis during sentencing, despite telling the judge he was never armed or hurt anyone.
The judge made it clear the tellers didn't know that, slightly upping the punishment.
At times, Lewis was rambling and hinting that he was a secret government agent.
The 11-year sentence is less than the 20 years the prosecution was seeking.
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