A Shadyside man who turned himself in both times he robbed Pittsburgh banks pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court.
Aaron Roth, 36, will be sentenced to nine years in prison as part of a plea agreement.
Sentencing on charges of armed bank robbery, brandishing a firearm and possessing a stolen firearm is scheduled for July 16 before Senior U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
The firearm count carries a mandatory penalty of seven years.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Fry, Roth walked into a Chase Bank on Walnut Street in Shadyside on April 19 and brandished a .357-caliber evolver. He stole $500.
A few hours later, he turned himself in to Pittsburgh police.
Granted nonmonetary bond by District Judge Katherine Lovelace — with an order to stay away from banks — Roth was released from custody.
A few months later, on Aug. 7, Fry said, Roth, wearing a suit and tie, entered the First National Bank on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield and passed a note to the teller.
“‘This is a robbery,’” it read. “‘I have a gun pointed at you. Stay calm. I want $20,000.’”
The teller handed over $4,558, including “bait money” with recorded serial numbers.
Officers encountered Roth a few blocks away, and he admitted he was the robber.
“He had called 911,” his attorney, Chris Rand Eyster, told the court. “He was in the process of turning himself in.”
Fry said Roth had stolen the gun he used from his landlord.
Advisory sentencing guidelines in the case call for 13 years in prison. However, both parties agreed on a lesser sentence given Roth’s cooperation with investigators and his lack of a prior criminal history.
