An Arkansan arrested last year less than 30 minutes after robbing a bank was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison Friday.
Henry Smith, 67, was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2017 on one count of bank robbery and pleaded guilty March 5. Smith, who has a lengthy criminal history including previous convictions for bank robbery, was sentenced Friday to 12 years and seven months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to a news release.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Hot Springs police detective Mark Fallis responded to Citizens Bank, 150 Airport Road, on Nov. 8, 2017, around 2:45 p.m. He said he made contact with two employees who stated an unknown black male, wearing a black ball cap, sunglasses, a ski mask and blue shirt had walked into the bank.
One employee told police the man he would have to remove his hat and glasses but instead he walked up to the other employee, put a small black drawstring bag on the counter in front of her, demanding money. Authorities said he also told her he had a gun and she needed to hurry.
The employee put an undisclosed amount of cash in the bag, and the man fled on foot, court records show.
Other officers were in the area and located Smith behind the buildings at Hot Springs Plaza, 1609 Albert Pike, and took him into custody. Police noted that officers found the stolen cash and other items on Smith at the time of his arrest.
Smith, a Hot Springs, was brought to the city's Police Department for questioning and admitted to robbing the bank, authorities said.