Backpack bomb-threat bank robber gets 17 years

A Columbus man who three times has claimed he had a bomb in his backpack to commit or attempt robberies will spend 17 years in federal prison for his latest heist.

Victor Cartell Butler, 59, pleaded guilty in January to the Sept. 28, 2015, robbery of the SunTrust Bank at 2050 Auburn Ave., where he entered unmasked and gave a teller a handwritten note claiming he had a bomb he would detonate if she didn’t give him money. Along with his backpack, he had a gadget that appeared to be an electronic trigger.

He fled the bank with $2,000, but the next morning was arrested at his Booker Avenue home after his pastor and probation officer identified him from security-camera images.

This week U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land sentenced him to 204 months in prison.

The SunTrust robbery marked the third time Butler used the bomb threat. He was convicted in the robbery of a bank in 2002 and the attempted robbery of a post office in 2006, authorities said.

“For the past 15 years this bandit has bullied his victims with the claim that he had a bomb in his backpack,” U.S Attorney G.F. “Pete” Peterman III wrote in a news release. “With the lengthy and well-deserved sentence imposed today, he will not have the opportunity to repeat his depredations for a very long time, if ever.”

This story was originally published August 17, 2016 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Backpack bomb-threat bank robber gets 17 years."