An Oakland man convicted of committing 17 Northern California bank robberies and two attempted heists within one year was sentenced in federal court in San Francisco Wednesday to eight years and one month in prison.
Duane Makela, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who also ordered three years of supervised release after completion of the prison term.
Makela pleaded guilty before Breyer in October to carrying out 10 armed robberies of banks and credit unions, seven unarmed robberies and two attempted bank robberies between March 2018 and February 2019.
Defense attorneys said in a sentencing brief that Makela was addicted to heroin and methamphetamine at the time of the robberies.
The robbed institutions included banks and credit unions in the East Bay, Peninsula and towns in or near the Sierra Nevada.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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