GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Months after his release from federal prison for bank robbery, Kimathi R. Smith found himself in the middle of a pandemic and struggling to survive.
So, he returned to old habits and robbed a bank.
It netted Smith $791 in cash and a trip back to federal prison; this time for 12½ years.
“This was a crime of despair,’’ Smith’s attorney wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff on Friday ordered that Smith serve three years on federal probation once he gets out of prison and pay $791 in restitution.
Defense attorney James Stevenson Fisher says Smith has become “utterly institutionalized’’ due to his many years in prison.
“Spending most of his formative years in the system has prevented him from truly learning how to function and live as a productive member of society,’’ Fisher wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Smith has previous convictions for robbing banks in 2000 and again in 2008.
The most recent offense occurred Nov. 2 at the Fifth-Third bank branch at 700 Bridge Street NW. The suspect entered the branch shortly after 3 p.m. wearing glasses, a dark mask and a camouflage vest.
Smith was arrested the next day.
He was on federal probation for robbing a Fifth-Third branch on Leonard Street NW back in 2008. He also served time for a bank robbery in 2000.
Smith got out of prison in 2019 and returned to Grand Rapids to serve his term of probation. When the pandemic hit, Smith encountered challenges and obstacles he was unable to overcome, according to a sentencing memorandum.
“He was far from thriving, and the pandemic only made it harder for him to survive,’’ Fisher wrote.
He was unable to find permanent housing and struggled to find money to pay for his stay at a budget motel, Fisher wrote.
Smith accepted help from a “friend,’’ Fisher wrote, but that person became insistent on repayment and threatened violence.
“He felt he had no choice but to come up with the money quickly; his life literally depended on it,’’ Fisher wrote.
Smith, 48, “is sincerely remorseful for committing this offense,’’ Fisher wrote.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
