Serial bank robber sentenced to 11 years
A man who robbed a New Bedford bank wielding a BB gun, wearing a translucent mask, and stuffing $1,098 cash in an orange tick-or-treat bag was sentenced to 11 years in prison in Boston’s federal court Wednesday.
“Give me the f—— money, hurry up, I’m not f—— around,” David Frates yelled at the teller, according to the affidavit.
Frates pleaded guilty in May 2015 to the September 24, 2013 robbery of the St. Anne’s Credit Union. The plea marked his sixth bank robbery conviction.
In court Wednesday, he wore a green jumpsuit and white velcro sneakers, and whispered a few words to his relatives before taking seat next to his attorney.
Frates was remorseful. He told Judge Richard Stearns, “I want to give back and not just be remembered as the guy who runs into banks and scares ladies.”
He said he was especially sorry for scaring the female tellers. “I’m really sorry for the panic I put them through,” he said.
Frates also told Stearns that he had found God while incarcerated.
Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Shine had asked Stearns to sentence Frates to 18 months, arguing Frates “has spent his entire life as an adult and a juvenile breaking the law.”
“This was not a random, sort of last minute, I’m going to do something stupid [crime]” Shine said. “This was an arranged plan.”
He added that Frates stole the mask and trick-or-treat bag from a local convenience store, and that in previous detentions Frates has not taken advantage of drug treatment programs.
Frates’ defense attorney, Ian Gold, asked for 90 months and countered Shine’s depiction of his client. “He is someone who in moments of despair self medicates with drugs and then makes impulsive and bad decisions, and that is the case in a nutshell,” he said.
“I think there is a need to incapacitate but not to throw away the key,” said Stearns when sentencing Frates. “I fully accept the sincerity of what you say today,” Stearns said, but that added Frates has yet to prove he can follow his pledge to change.
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