A Portland man who robbed a Vancouver US Bank branch in October was sentenced Monday in Clark County Superior Court to about 2.5 years in prison.
David Hercules Buchanan, 36, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery stemming from the Oct. 13 incident.
A man, later identified as Buchanan, entered the US Bank inside the Fred Meyer on Columbia House Boulevard shortly before 2:45 p.m. A clerk at the bank told police Buchanan came to her teller window and passed her a note, and she saw him holding a black handgun, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court. The teller handed him about $3,400 in cash and he then left, the affidavit said.
Vancouver police officers reviewed surveillance footage and saw the robber get into a later-model blue minivan and drive toward state Highway 14, court records said. They released information about the robbery and received multiple tips identifying the suspect as Buchanan.
One tipster said Buchanan worked at Burger King in Washougal. Officers found him there and arrested him on a separate warrant from District Court, according to court documents.
In an interview with police, Buchanan admitted to robbing the bank and said the weapon he brought was a BB gun, court records show.
On Monday, Deputy Prosecutor James Smith said Buchanan was the manager at the Washougal Burger King and had stolen some money from the fast-food restaurant. Buchanan then robbed the bank, Smith said, to pay back his debt.
Buchanan’s defense attorney, Tonya Rulli, said her client was experiencing financial pressure at the time, as he was recently married and had two stepchildren. He also had an underlying gambling problem, she said. He has no prior felony criminal history.
Buchanan tearfully apologized to the bank teller who was present in court for “any kind of mental anguish” he caused her. He said he had lost his way.
Judge Derek Vanderwood agreed to follow the attorneys’ previously agreed-upon sentence of 31 months in prison. Buchanan was given 130 days credit for time served in jail.
