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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A bank robber who rejected a plea deal and went to trial has been sent to prison for 57 years.
By taking the case to trial in April, Joshua Rich took a big gamble. He likely would have been sentenced to 32 years under the plea agreement.
U.S. District Judge Dee Benson says he had no choice today but to follow sentencing rules. Rich is 27 years old and will be 84 when his prison term ends, unless he dies behind bars.
Rich told the judge that he robbed a Wells Fargo branch in Lindon three times in 2006 and 2007 because he was addicted to heroin.
Some money was used to pay for a honeymoon with Kylee Rich, who was sentenced to a year in prison for a lesser role in the robberies.
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Information from: Deseret News
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
