Judges have the fate of criminals in their hands.
Usually, defendants plead with them to stay out of jail.
And a Florida bank robber gave a judge a shocking ultimatum that no one saw coming.
Florida bank robber makes an unusual plea to the judge
Terry Meach, a 43-year-old man, was released from prison earlier this year for bank robbery and got back to his old habits as soon as he got out of the slammer.
He walked into a Truist Bank in Hollywood, Florida where he told the teller that he had a gun.
The teller handed over $2,419 to Meach who fled the area without being caught.
Meach went into a Fifth Third Bank in Fort Lauderdale, Florida four days later with his hands in his pocket.
He told the teller that he had a bomb and to hand over the money.
That teller backed off and he fled from the bank.
But he was not going to be deterred in his desire to rob a bank that day.
Meach walked into a Truist Bank that was about 100 yards from the Fifth Third Bank he tried to rob.
He went back to using his “I have a gun line” and made off with $2,379.
His luck ran out after that bank robbery, and he was arrested.
Most criminals try to do everything in their power to avoid going to jail.
Meach became one of the rare cases of a crook who pleaded with the judge to throw him in the slammer.
He wrote a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Rodney Smith asking for the maximum sentence because he wanted to be in jail.
“Please, could you consider giving me the max or the most time so that I can get back to my normal life in a controlled environment? Prison keeps me from my own self-destruction and keeps the outside community safer,” Meach wrote Judge Smith.
“I know I’m going to mess up again. I always have the same results, 100% truth. I love the life I have in prison. I made a family and good jobs. Please, understand me. I know right from wrong, and I’m not crazy at all,” Meach continued. “I just know myself better than anyone else does.”
Florida criminal gets a shocking sentence from the judge
Meach is a career bank robber who had served time in federal prison for the crime before.
He robbed two banks in Florida in 2012 and was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison.
Meach was released in 2016 when he got back to his old ways.
He robbed a SunTrust Bank in Fort Lauderdale eight days after he got out of prison and robbed a Chase Bank in Doral, Florida two days after that.
Those bank robberies earned him a 99-month sentence in federal prison where he was held until February.
Meach pled guilty to two counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery during his latest spree.
It should have been a lock that the judge would have honored his request and handed down the maximum sentence for his crimes.
But Judge Smith only gave him 20 years, which is the maximum for one count of bank robbery.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
