GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man who said he robbed a Grand Rapids bank of about $1,500 to pay for drugs and prostitutes was sentenced this week to eight years in federal prison.
A federal judge also ordered Dennis Lee Burger to pay $1,558 in restitution for what was taken from Macatawa Bank during the robbery five months ago.
It’s a routine familiar to Burger; he went to prison in 2018 for two other Macatawa Bank robberies.
"We and our employees have been the victim of three separate robberies committed by Dennis Burger,'' a Macatawa Bank representative wrote to the sentencing judge. "The fear does not go away.''
Grand Rapids police say Burger entered the Macatawa branch at 2440 Burton St. SE in the early afternoon of Sept. 21, 2020 and passed a robbery note to the teller. No weapon was used.
One of the tellers recognized the robber as the same person who targeted the Macatawa branch in 2018. It did not take police long to catch up with Burger.
His vehicle was stopped by patrol officers near Adams Street and Marshall Avenue SE. Burger was booked into the Kent County Jail hours later.
“At the time of the new offense, he was in the process of transitioning in a halfway house,’’ Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Y. Mekaru wrote in court documents. “On Sept. 19, defendant was not in place and designated an escapee.’’
Burger admitted to the robbery, telling police that he needed the money to pay a debt of $1,400 for drugs and prostitutes, court records show.
Drugs also played a role in his 2018 robberies, one of which occurred at the Macatawa branch he revisited in September.
A federal judge sentenced Burger to a little more than three years in prison for the 2018 robberies. He told a teller: “You’re about to have a really bad day.’’
Court records indicate the robberies occurred when Burger was high on crack cocaine.
“His drug of choice is heroin; although he has been addicted to crack cocaine, methadone and alcohol,’’ defense attorney David L. Kaczor wrote in a 2018 sentencing memorandum. “He admitted to being high on crack at the time he robbed each bank.’’
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