Irish bank robber sentenced for heists in US

An Irish bank robber, one of the most prolific in recent US history, has been sentenced to a further nearly six years in federal prison for a series of heists over a few months in one California city.

Adam Lynch, 37, from north Dublin, is already serving more than five years for other robberies carried out in Colorado and Wyoming.

Dubbed the “Ho Hum Bandit” for his nonchalant — some reported bored — attitude as he passed notes to tellers demanding cash, admitted to 17 robberies in just 13 months.

But law enforcement agencies have identified others believed to have been carried out by Lynch, with the total running into the mid 20s.

He was arrested after confessing to his girlfriend over drinks in the Fado pub in downtown Denver. His girlfriend promptly stepped outside and phoned the police. The couple were breaking up.

In federal court in San Diego on Monday, Lynch was sentenced to 70 months in prison, just shy of six years.

The judge ordered that 56 of those months be served consecutively with the sentence imposed by a Denver court following his arrest in April 2011.

He will not be released from prison until 2020, after which he is likely to be deported back to Ireland.

His arrest ended a spree of robberies that began in California in February 2010 and continued in Colorado and elsewhere into March 2011.

Ronald Gainor, Adam Lynch’s defence lawyer, worked for free on the case, in Colorado and California.

He said Lynch was an extremely productive individual before his life went off the rails, falling into deep depression following the break up of his marriage and a battle with cancer. “He’s an incredible guy, really warm and he’s got a really strong support network back home in Ireland,” Mr Gainor said.

He’s going to land on his feet. There’s a lot of life there yet,” he said, adding he would likely not have stuck by Lynch had the Irishman not had such a productive life before being taken over by a severe psychological illness.

Lynch’s mother travelled from Dublin to San Diego for the court hearing on Monday.

There is an outstanding warrant for Lynch issued by a California state court but Mr Gainor said he will be arguing the sentences imposed at federal level adds up to enough prison time.

He said Lynch, who previously ran a successful dog care business in northern California and lived in a $800,000 (€600,000) home with his now estranged wife, just wants to get back home to Dublin.

But Judge Roger Benitez disagreed and imposed a sentence in line with what prosecutors wanted.

Lynch had pleaded guilty to seven robberies in San Diego carried out by “force, violence, and intimidation”, though it’s admitted he was never armed, simply passing a note claiming he had a gun and demanding the money. In total, Lynch stole $25,000 from the seven banks in San Diego. According to investigators, he was extravagant with his money, taking his girlfriend on a round-the- world trip that included stops in Egypt and to Ireland. The couple moved to Colorado, where Lynch continued robbing.

He pleaded guilty to four robberies, three in Colorado and one in Wyoming, but agreed to pay restitution to six other banks.

The relationship soured and in April 2011, and at an Irish bar in Denver, Lynch confessed he was the Ho Hum Bandit.