KINGWOOD — A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty Thursday to robbing the Kingwood branch of BB&T Bank last year.
But Preston Circuit Judge Steve Shaffer refused to go along with a portion of the plea agreement that would have made Dustin Albert Bohna’s Preston County sentence concurrent with whatever he is given in Monongalia County.
Bohna, 37, of Hiller, Pa., is charged with robbing the United Bank on Earl L. Core Road Jan. 11, 2018, and the BB&T Bank on Earl L. Core Road April 13, 2018. In both those robberies, police say he showed tellers a pistol and escaped with a total of about $1,900.
No weapon was shown when he robbed the Kingwood bank March 13, 2018, Preston Prosecutor Melvin C. Snyder III said in court Thursday. Bohna apologized to the teller for taking the money, $1,910.10, Snyder said.
The October 2018 term of the Preston Grand Jury indicted Bohna on a charge of bank robbery. The September 2018 Monongalia County Grand Jury indicted him for first-degree robbery.
Snyder and defense attorney Claire Niehaus said Bohna was supposed to enter into a plea agreement earlier this week in Monongalia County that would have set his sentence at 10 years in prison. That hearing was postponed.
In an agreed upon arrangement between the counties, Preston County agreed to offer him a binding plea agreement that gave him 10 years in prison for a plea to an information charging grand larceny, with the sentences from the two counties to be served concurrently (at the same time).
Judge Shaffer said he would not accept a plea agreement that required him to make the 10 years concurrent.
“So basically he can come up here to Preston County and rob a bank and walk away?” the judge asked. “He did this, and basically what we’re saying it you can turn around and only get one sentence out of the whole thing?”
After consulting with Niehaus, Bohna pleaded guilty to grand larceny without the guarantee the sentence will be concurrent. Niehaus asked Shaffer to impose sentence right away, but the judge said he wanted a pre-sentence investigation done.
Grand larceny is punishable by one to 10 years in prison, or up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Shaffer said he would require Bohna to make restitution to BB&T.
Snyder said bank robbery requires some threat or physical violence, and there was none involved in the Kingwood robbery.
