A man with a history of robbery convictions over more than three decades has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison under California's three strikes law.
Michael Neal Johnson, 53, was convicted of robbing the downtown River City Bank in Sacramento on Jan. 25, 2012, and was found to have committed three prior bank robberies. He was sentenced today by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Gary Mullen.
Johnson's criminal record dates back to a 1980 robbery conviction when he was a juvenile in Santa Clara, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.
In 1983, he was convicted of possession of stolen property. In 1985, he was convicted of robbing a savings and loans bank and was federally prosecuted in the Eastern District of California.
In November and December 1992, Johnson robbed a total of eight banks in the Sacramento, San Francisco and Fort Lauderdale areas, officials said.
On May 11, 1993, Johnson was sentenced to 171 months in federal prison for the string of 1992 bank robberies. Officials said he escaped from federal custody about two months before he committed the January 2012 River City Bank robbery in Sacramento.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.