PORT ANGELES — The defense attorney for convicted bank thief Benjamin Michael Arredondo said a Clallam County Superior Court jury did the “right thing” in finding his client guilty of theft, not robbery.
“I think the jury did exactly the right thing, no matter how technical you are in the law,” Ralph Anderson of Clallam-Jefferson Public Defenders said Wednesday.
Arredondo, 38, was charged in the Jan. 8 heist of the downtown Bank of America after he told a bank teller to step back, then hopped over the counter and took $5,000, according to Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly.
Last week, a Superior Court jury found Arredondo guilty of an alternate charge of first-degree theft — not the first-degree robbery that Kelly sought — based on the question of whether his actions made bank employees fearful.
For the conviction, Arredondo faces a standard sentencing range of zero to 90 days.
Kelly said she may seek more time than that, but Anderson said he will ask Judge George L. Wood for a 90-day sentence at Arredondo’s sentencing at 9 a.m. Friday in Superior Court.
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The rest of the story appears in the Thursday Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
