A Convicted Serial Bank Robber Requests Maximum Sentence for Public Safety
Terry Meach, a 42-year-old convicted serial bank robber, asked a federal judge to keep him locked up for the maximum term after hitting three establishments in Florida just two weeks after being released from prison for another bank robbery.
Meach was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, the maximum for bank robbery, last Thursday. He argued that an extended period behind bars would help curb his urges, normalize his life, and enhance public safety.
In a letter to US District Court Judge Rodney Smith in September, Meach wrote, “Please, could you consider giving me the max or the most time so that I can get back to my normal life in a controlled environment? Prison keeps me from my own self-destruction and keeps the outside community safer.”
Meach confessed to stealing $2,419 from a Truist Bank in Hollywood on February 23 after threatening a teller and claiming to have a gun, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Four days later, Meach entered Fifth Third Bank in Fort Lauderdale, claimed to have a bomb, and stole $2,379 from a Truist Bank down the street. He also told the Truist banker he had a gun during the heist.
Prior to these crimes, Meach was convicted in April 2012 for robbing a TD Bank in Fort Lauderdale and attempting to steal from Suntrust Bank in Miami, leading to nearly four years of incarceration. Upon his release in March 2016, he robbed another Suntrust Bank in Fort Lauderdale and a Chase Bank in Doral shortly after.
After serving eight years in federal prison, Meach was released on February 9, only to commit his latest string of crimes 14 days later. He pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery.
