A federal judge today sentenced Wayne S. Shelton, 30, formerly of East Providence, to 262 months in prison for bank robbery. Shelton held up a Bank RI branch in East Providence in August 2004 and has several prior violent felony convictions that factored into his sentence.

United States Attorney Robert Clark Corrente announced the sentence, which U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi imposed in U.S. District Court, Providence.

In a non-jury trial in February, Judge Lisi found Shelton guilty, rejecting the defendant’s claim that he was not guilty because of insanity or mental defect. During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adi Goldstein presented evidence that, on August 12, 2004, Shelton went into the Bank RI on Taunton Avenue wearing a bandana over his face, brandished a BB gun that resembled a 9-millimeter pistol, and demanded money from four tellers.

Shelton took about $9,000 and fled the scene on a mountain bike that he had previously parked near the bank. East Providence Police arrested him a short while later after searching for him in the neighborhood of the bank.

Rejecting Shelton’s claim that he suffered from an incapacitating mental illness, Judge Lisi relied on the government’s evidence that Shelton planned the robbery by casing the bank, both the day before and the day of the robbery, and that his actions during the robbery showed the ability to reason.

Shelton has at least five prior felony convictions, including armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and a firearms offense. His criminal record placed him at the top of the scale used for calculating a sentencing range under federal guidelines. Because at least two of his prior felonies were violent crimes, he was also considered a career offender, which further lengthened his sentence.

East Providence Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the robbery. Assistant U.S. Attorney Goldstein is prosecuting it.

Contact: 401-709-5032 Thomas.connell@usdoj.gov

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