‘Gentleman Bandit’ Given 50-Year Term

Robert Hal Brame, dubbed by authorities the “gentleman bandit” suspected in about 100 bank robberies across the nation, was sentenced to 50 years in prison Wednesday by a San Diego federal judge for charges stemming from two October 1988 holdups in San Diego County.

U.S. District Judge J. Lawrence Irving called Brame the “quintessential career criminal” and said he was a “professional thug” who was “addicted to bank robberies.”

Brame, 35, pleaded guilty July 20 to two counts of bank robbery and two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Brame admitted robbing the Home Federal Savings & Loan branch in Tierrasanta of $1,075 on Oct. 5, 1988, and the next day, of robbing the Trust Savings Bank in Carlsbad of $21,450. He also admitted using a gun both times, Assistant U.S. Atty. David Katz said.

Both robberies followed the same pattern, Katz said. Dressed in a business suit and tie, Brame chatted up an officer at each bank about opening a retirement account, then pulled a gun and demanded money.

Irving sentenced Brame to 25-year consecutive terms in federal prison for each of the two robberies. The judge also sentenced him to five years for each of the weapons charges but said those sentences could run concurrently with the robbery sentences, Katz said.

Brame could have been sentenced to a maximum of 60 years. The 50-year sentence he received means he will be eligible for parole in 42 1/2 years, Katz said.

“This sentence will definitely go a long way toward protecting the public from Robert Brame,” he said.

FBI agents arrested Brame in Sacramento on Oct. 28, 1988. Authorities had been searching for him since he escaped in 1986 from a North Carolina prison, Katz said.

During those two years, authorities believe, Brame used the same routine he used in the two San Diego-area robberies in about 100 holdups nationwide. Called the “gentleman bandit” because of his business suits, Brame preferred Ralph Lauren clothes, Katz said.

Brame still faces prosecution on robbery charges in Northern California, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia and Florida, Katz said. He has been convicted of a number of other offenses, including kidnaping, escape and assaulting a police officer with a weapon, Katz said.