A federal judge assessed an Alba man more than 15 years in prison Wednesday for robbing banks in Joplin, Webb City and Springfield.
U.S. District Judge Richard Dorr sentenced Michael D. Manis, 53, to 15 years and eight months without parole at a hearing in federal court in Springfield. The defendant was facing up to 25 years on each of the three counts of bank robbery to which he pleaded guilty in May.
Manis robbed the US Bank in Webb City on Feb. 14 and the Great Southern Bank in Springfield 10 days later. He robbed the Great Southern Bank at 1232 S. Range Line Road in Joplin on March 14.
Police arrested him March 27 based on DNA analysis of evidence retrieved from the scene of the robbery in Joplin. Under questioning by a Joplin detective, he admitted robbing the other two banks as well. He reportedly told the detective that he used a different pellet gun in each robbery.
A search of his vehicle turned up one of the pellet guns.
A belt and a pair of shoes believed to have been worn by him during one or more of the robberies also were seized as evidence.
The judge ordered that Manis serve his time in a federal prison after completing a sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections. He was on parole at the time of the robberies.
The federal court also ordered that he pay $16,000 in restitution to the banks.
Crime & Courts
Alba man sentenced to 15 years in prison in three bank robberies
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