Pennsylvania bank robber who bummed cigarette during escape gets 10 years in prison
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A bank robber who stopped during his escape to bum a cigarette off a construction worker has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a federal judge in Pittsburgh.
The worker told police that a man matching 38-year-old Paul Carman’s description appeared nervous moments after the October 2013 robbery in Ambridge, when Carman threw his shirt in a trash container. But Carman still stopped to borrow a cigarette.
That encounter helped police identify Carman as the man who handed a Huntingdon Bank teller a note saying, “This is a robbery. No dye packs. No alarms.”
Carman pleaded guilty in June and faced more than 12 years in prison under federal guidelines.
Carman’s attorney argued his client has had a life-long problem with alcohol and should get a shorter term.
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