BALTIMORE BANK ROBBER SENTENCED TO OVER 12 ½ YEARS

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Louis Mullen, age 34, of Baltimore today to 151 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for bank robbery, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Blake enhanced Mullen’s sentence upon finding that he is an career offender based on prior convictions for robbery with a deadly weapon, robbery and resisting arrest and ordered him to pay restitution of $526.

According to his guilty plea, On Friday, April 13, 2007 Mullen robbed the Provident Bank of Maryland, located at 5225 Belair Road. Mullen entered the bank, waited in line, and handed the teller a note which read: “Give me the money I have a gun so be cool.” The teller, believing that Mullen had a gun, put $526 and an exploding dye pack into a bag and handed the bag to Mullen. Mullen took the bag and fled the bank, leaving the note behind.

The note Mullen handed the teller was written on a check from a Provident account that was closed in 2001. Since 2005, three fraudulent checks on this account were written payable to Louis Mullen. Investigators were able to identify Mullen based on these checks and the bank surveillance video. Mullen was located at his home in Baltimore City, which was then surrounded by members of the Baltimore City Tactical Unit. Mullen was seen looking out the windows of the home, and shortly thereafter, he called 911 and asked to surrender to the police. Mullen was arrested and a search warrant was obtained for the home. Recovered from Mullen’s room in the basement of the house were his dye stained clothing and a practice note written on a Provident Bank deposit slip.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Baltimore City Police Department for their investigative work, and commended Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the case.