Bank robber Albert Clemons, who pulled an armed heist of a First Niagara Bank branch in Ross seven years ago with a violent pal who has since died, is headed to federal prison for 15 years.
He had been facing a possible 28 years as an armed career criminal, but changes in how that designation was calculated reduced his term, and U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer on Wednesday gave him 180 months.
He could get state time in addition because his conviction means he violated state parole from prior offenses.
Clemons, of the North Side, held up the bank on March 2, 2016, with Douglas Silva, who was 62 at the time. He died in March.
Both were set to go on trial in January 2018. But at the last minute, they decided to plead guilty. Prosecutors said they had pulled other robberies together.
Both wore masks and toted pistols. Silva held tellers at gunpoint while Clemons rifled the drawers and stole $10,000. He also pointed his gun at a teller.
They ran to their car and fled through residential neighborhoods in Ross. A witness followed them and called 911.
Police converged on them in Shaler and tried to pull them over. Silva, behind the wheel, refused to stop. After a chase, he pulled over and cops cuffed him. Clemons bolted for some woods, but officers chased him down.
Police recovered bags of money nearby and another bag containing a ski mask, license plate, sweatshirt and gloves. They also found two handguns.
Torsten covers the courts for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Reach him at jtorsteno@gmail.com.
