PORT TOWNSEND – Daniel Lee Semingson pleaded guilty to robbing the Port Townsend branch of the Washington Mutual bank and was sentenced on Friday.
Semingson, 36, of Port Townsend pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery in Jefferson County Superior Court and was sentenced to 31 months in prison.
“It was a horrible mistake,” Semingson told Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Craddock Verser.
Semingson’s alcohol abuse contributed to the robbery of the bank at 419 Kearney St. on March 17, his attorney, Ben Critchlow told Verser.
“Drinking has clouded his judgment, considerably,” Critchlow said.
The court hearing was less than two weeks after Semingson robbed the Port Townsend branch and then bought rounds of St. Patrick’s Day drinks at a local bar with the $1,000 loot.
Critchlow said that, in the past several weeks, Semingson had been drinking a large amount of alcohol and didn’t know exactly what he was doing.
In court Friday, handcuffed and wearing orange jail pajamas, Semingson admitted that he walked into the Washington Mutual Bank at about 9 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day.
He said he handed the teller a note that demanded money and that threatened her with being shot if she didn’t hand money over.
He was not carrying a gun when he robbed the bank, police said.
“It’s not like me,” said Semingson in court Friday.
“This is the worst thing I’ve ever done.”
Before issuing the sentence, Verser said, “This is the most inexplicable bank robbery I’ve seen in my life.”
