Ex-High School Athlete Gets 9 Years for Bank Robbery

Former Canyon High School football star Eddie James Pugh was sentenced to nine years in state prison after pleading guilty to robbing a bank with his cousin last year, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Pugh, 20, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Charles Peven after pleading guilty to two counts of robbery and one count of escape, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

The escape charge stemmed from Pugh’s flight from Newhall Municipal Court in March, following a preliminary hearing in which a judge ordered Pugh to stand trial for the bank robbery.

Pugh’s cousin, Georgina Janelle Greene, 20, also pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery Tuesday.

She faces a possible maximum seven-year prison term when sentenced Aug. 3, Gibbons said.

Pugh and Greene, both of Canyon Country, dressed in black and carried shotguns in the Dec. 2, 1998, robbery of a Citibank branch at 19100 Soledad Canyon Road.

More than $2,000 was recovered by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies after the pair’s arrest 30 minutes after the robbery, Gibbons said.

Pugh and Greene were students at College of the Canyons. Pugh was a defensive back for the college’s football team and was named an All-Foothill League player while at Canyon High School.