Bank robber claims 'good man at heart'

BRUNSWICK, Fla., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A Florida judge has sentenced a convicted bank robber to 78 months in jail, despite the criminal's claim that he is "a real good man at heart."

Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony Alaimo handed down the maximum jail sentence to Roy Anthony Pruitt, 43, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., after he pleaded guilty to robbing a SunTrust Bank inside a Publix supermarket in Brunswick, Fla., on Oct. 1, 2007, the (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union reported Wednesday.

"I've done wrong. I'm ashamed of what I did. I was desperate and confused," Pruitt told the court before his sentencing. "I ask you to be lenient because I'm a good man at heart. A real good man at heart."

Pruitt, who has 16 prior convictions for fraud and theft, was also ordered to pay $5,375 in restitution and sentenced to three years of federal probation following his release from prison.