Port Angeles: Bank heist only theft, not robbery

PORT ANGELES — Benjamin Michael Arredondo was charged in January with robbing a downtown bank.

But the sentence he faces this week in Clallam County Superior Court may not be typical for other bank bandits.

A Superior Court jury last week found Arredondo, 38, guilty of first-degree theft — not first-degree robbery that prosecutors sought — in the Jan. 8 heist at Bank of America at the corner of Front and Laurel streets.

When he is sentenced at 9 a.m. Friday in Superior Court, Arredondo’s penalty could range from zero to 90 days jailing based on the standard range under state sentencing guidelines, Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly said Tuesday.

The case against Arredondo hinged on whether his actions inside the bank that day caused fear to the teller who stood behind the counter, Kelly said.

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The rest of the story appears in the Wednesday Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.

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