Career Offender Bank Robber Sentenced to More Than 14 Years in Federal Prison

EUGENE, OR—On April 17, 2014, Chief United States District Judge Ann Aiken sentenced career offender Leodis Robert Roach, 31, of Multnomah County, Oregon, to serve 14 years and four months in federal prison for robbing the Eugene downtown branch of the Bank of America and a 10-year concurrent sentence for possessing a loaded pistol while he was a passenger in a car outside of Spokane, Washington. Roach will serve his federal sentences concurrently with state prison sentences he is presently serving in Oregon for first-degree robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

In 2001, Roach shot a person in Portland, Oregon, over an illegal drug debt and was convicted of assault in the first degree. He was released from prison in 2009 and attended classes at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon.

In April 2010, Roach was convicted of attempting to elude Portland police, a felony. In May 2011, Roach was arrested by U.S. Marshals for illegally possessing a loaded .45 caliber pistol near Spokane, Washington. Roach was released from custody pending his trial on the federal firearm charge.

On June 21, 2011, while committing a robbery, Roach exchanged gunfire with a drug dealer in a commercial area of Portland, Oregon. On July 22, 2011, Roach robbed the Bank of America in Eugene and, with the aid of an accomplice, returned to Portland, Oregon. On August 19, 2011, Roach was arrested by Portland police for the June 21, 2011 robbery. On March 20, 2013, an Oregon state judge sentenced Roach to 10 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of first-degree robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On November 14, 2013, Roach appeared in federal court in Eugene and pled guilty to robbing the Bank of America in Eugene as a career criminal. Roach earlier pleaded guilty to illegally possessing the loaded pistol in Washington. Today, Judge Aiken imposed the 14-year sentence for the federal offenses and ordered them to be served concurrently with Roach’s state sentences.

The federal cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Portland Police Department; the Eugene Police Department; and the Washington State Patrol. They were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank R. Papagni, Jr. and Assistant United States Attorney Aine Ahmed.