Godwin sentenced in Brewton bank robbery case
Published 9:52 pm Thursday, January 31, 2013
Nearly a year after the downtown Bank of Brewton branch was robbed, the person who wore a disguise for the heist has been sentenced.
Robin Ann Godwin, 43, entered a guilty plea to the bank robbery charge in an October 2012 appearance in court. On Wednesday, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Godwin admitted her part in the heist that netted just over a quarter of a million dollars while she wore an elaborate disguise.
Evidence presented during hearings in the case say she wore large sunglasses, padded on her body, black face paint and an Afro wig.
In presentation of the evidence gathered in the case, officials say Godwin entered the bank and approached Pamela Steele who was a teller at the bank on Feb. 17. 2012 when the robbery occurred.
Approaching Steele to request rental of a safety deposit box, Godwin and Steele entered the vault where the boxes are housed. While in the vault, Godwin packed the cash into a large bag and left with the $255,000 in cash.
Steele reportedly did not place dye packs into the bag as is typically done in such situations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Bodnar said investigators were only able to recover about half of the money taken months later when Godwin was arrested.
The judge ordered Godwin to be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years after her sentence ends and pay back the $124,026 that investigators never recovered. Steele, who was sentenced to one year and a day in an earlier sentencing hearing, will also be required to repay $124,026 in restitution as well.