FOR FURTHERINFORMATION CONTACT

AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or

MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885  
February 1, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md                                       

BANK ROBBER SENTENCED TO OVER SEVEN YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Handed the Bank Teller a Demand Note Stating that He had a Bomb and Gun

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Paul Kevin Helfrick, age 45, of Brooklyn, Maryland today to 90 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for armed robbery of a bank, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.  Judge Bennett also ordered Helfrick to pay restitution of $1,255.

        According to his guilty plea, on January 24, 2007 Helfrick entered the Provident Bank located on Richie Highway in Baltimore and handed the teller a note on which he had written that he had a bomb and a gun.  He lifted up his shirt, displaying what appeared to the teller to be the handle of a handgun.  The teller handed Helfrick $1,255 and a red dye pack, and Helfrick left the bank.  Investigators matched photos of Helfrick with the bank’s surveillance video and determined that Helfrick was the individual who robbed the bank.  Upon his arrest, investigators recovered clothing covered in red dye.  Helfrick stated that the gun was a toy hand gun.  The gun was never recovered.        

        United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Anne Arundel County Police Department for their investigative work, and commended Assistant United States Attorney Tonya Kelly Kowitz, who prosecuted the case.