Pennsylvania man gets almost 6 years for drug-fueled holdup of Mobile bank

MOBILE, Al.
A Pennsylvania man who stole his uncle’s pickup truck rather than go to jail and then robbed a bank here last year will go to prison for almost 6 years, a federal judge ruled last week.

James Jacobs

Chief U.S. District Judge William Steele sentenced James Raymond Jacobs to 5 years and 10 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
Defense attorney Buzz Jordan said his client had a stable job at The Home Depot, but then suffered an injury that led to addiction to painkillers. He said Jacobs broke into his girlfriend’s house, stole her jewelry and then pawned it.
"Until he received an injury and prescription medication, he was a model citizen," he said.
Jacobs, 30, went into an RBC Bank in Mobile on Aug. 9 after spending his last $2 at Burger King. After talking about opening an account, he left and then returned about 20 minutes later with a stickup note indicating that he was armed and wanted money, court records show.
The bank teller pulled out a stack of cash totaling $2,298.
Jacobs drove away in a 2007 Dodge Ram pickup truck, but wrecked near the intersection of Montlimar Drive and Zack Logan Avenue, according to court records.
Jacobs said he is drug-free now.
"Until 28, I had no criminal history," he told Steele. "These last 2 years (the drugs) led me to places I never thought I’d go."