Georgia man gets three years for Wachovia bank robbery

A federal judge sentenced a 47-year-old Georgia man Thursday to serve three years in prison for the robbery of a Dothan Wachovia bank.

According to Retta Goss, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montgomery, U.S. Judge Harold Albritton handed down the sentence against Randy Peterson, of Blakely, Ga. Peterson previously pleaded guilty to the robbery of the Wachovia bank branch located at the intersection of West Main Street and Park Avenue, which happened on Aug. 11, 2008. Court records show Peterson took approximately $2,350 during the robbery.

Peterson passed the bank teller a note with written instructions to count out $3,000 in cash, without dye packs or tracking devices.

The day after the robbery, police arrested Peterson in Blakely after they received a Crime Stoppers tip. Police found him with assistance from Georgia authorities at a hotel in Blakely, where they also recovered the money. The note used was not recovered. Peterson initially denied committing the robbery, but later confessed.

Peterson was convicted of rape in 1980. Six years later he was convicted of sodomy of a child. He was also released from a Georgia prison for a burglary-related charge.