Man Sentenced to Over 20 Years in Prison for Bank Robbery and Transporting a Stolen Vehicle Across State Lines

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Georgia
February 22, 2010

DUBLIN, GA—Edward J. Tarver, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced today that Nathan Smith was sentenced by United States District Judge J. Randal Hall to 262 months’ imprisonment for bank robbery and interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle. Smith was convicted by an Augusta jury of these charges in September 2009.

The charges against Smith resulted from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with the Dublin Police Department and the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office, of the March 3, 2009 robbery of the Bank of Dudley, located in Dublin, Georgia. The evidence at Smith’s trial showed that Smith entered the bank, and presented a note to a bank teller demanding money and claiming Smith was in possession of a firearm. Smith exited the bank with approximately $2400, but was pulled over in a traffic stop a short time later, where Smith was found to be in possession of the stolen money. Further investigation revealed that the van in which Smith was traveling was stolen in Jacksonville, Florida.

Tarver stated that Smith will be required to serve a three-year period of supervised release following completion of his prison sentence. Tarver added, “There is no parole in the federal system.” Smith is currently in the custody of the United States Marshal awaiting transfer to a federal facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons.

Tarver praised the cooperative efforts of agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dublin Police Department, and the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation and apprehension of Smith for this crime of violence.

The government was represented by Greg Hurchalla, Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.