Record Prison Term in ATM Case
A Compton woman was sentenced to 34 years, 11 months in federal prison Wednesday for her role in two attempted robberies of automated teller machines. It is believed to be the longest sentence ever imposed for such a crime, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Clare Phillips.
U.S. District Judge Alicemarie Stotler imposed the sentence on Trina D. Harper, 23, a former ATM service technician, who was convicted in March, 1992, for her role in an attempted robbery of a Bank of America ATM in El Segundo. She received a 101-month sentence and was out on bail when she was arrested in September, 1992, for attempting to rob an ATM in Buena Park.
Stotler sentenced her to 318 months and tacked that sentence onto the original term. Phillips said evidence showed Harper had used her knowledge of ATMs to disable the machines, which brought out a service technician, who the defendants planned to accost and force him to open cash vaults containing at least $100,000.
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