The following information is released in cooperation
with the United States Attorney District of Idaho
CONTACT: PAMELA BEARG
Public Information Officer
CHRISTIAN S. NAFZGER
Assistant U.S. Attorney
(208) 334-1211
Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to 272 Months in
Federal Prison
BOISE -Bryan Mark Johnson, 55, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was
sentenced in United States District Court today for robbing
two Boise banks, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S.
District Judge David O. Carter sentenced Johnson to 272 months in
prison followed by five years of supervised release, and
ordered him to pay $23,033 in restitution. He pleaded guilty
on October 19, 2011, to two counts of bank robbery, one count
of unlawful possession of a firearm, and one count of using a
firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Co-defendant Melvin Glen Lantis, 65, also of Las Vegas,
Nevada, was sentenced to 63 months in prison for one count of
bank robbery on January 6, 2012.
According to the plea agreement and arguments made at
sentencing, Johnson admitted to traveling to Boise from Las
Vegas, Nevada, because he believed Boise would be an easy target
to rob banks because of its isolated location and relatively
low crime rate. On April 22, 2011, Johnson entered the Key
Bank branch at 4920 W. Overland Road. He approached two
bank tellers and directed them to give him all of their money.
A citizen who was visiting his daughter,
an employee of the bank, followed Johnson out of the bank as he
left with $13,082 in cash. As he left the bank, Johnson turned
and pointed a 9mm semi-automatic pistol at the citizen,
who then retreated into the bank. Johnson and his get-away
driver, Melvin Glen Lantis, were apprehended by Boise Police
officers moments later. After Johnson's arrest, he confessed
to robbing the Wells Fargo Bank at 10342 Overland Road in
Boise, on April 2, 2011. Johnson further confessed to robbing a
Bank of America in Las Vegas, Nevada; two casino stores in Las
Vegas within 45 minutes of each other; and two banks in
Tuscon, Arizona, all in February of 2011.
Johnson was released from federal prison in January of 2011,
after serving a 105-month sentence for six bank robberies
committed in the District of Nevada. He had also been
convicted in 1991 in the District of Nevada for bank robbery.
Because Johnson had two prior convictions for crimes of
violence, he was sentenced as an armed career criminal, which
carries a penalty of a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen
years to life imprisonment. "This well-deserved sentence will
protect the community from the serious threat that Mr. Johnson
posed to society," said Olson. "We commend the Boise Police
Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their
efforts that ensured Mr. Johnson would be held accountable for
his repeated violent acts."
The case was investigated by the Boise Police Department and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Click here
for the original Boise Police news release.