Man gets 3 years in Henrico bank robbery

The request for help from the public in solving a Henrico County bank robbery May 4 produced a flurry of tips.

After all, the man pictured robbing First Community Bank in the 900 block of North Parham Road was familiar to hundreds of people.

Stuart Lee Davis, 61, a stickler for well-tailored clothes, had worked at area clothiers since 1979; bank cameras showed the robber wearing a dark suit, a tie and a cream-colored Virginia Tech baseball cap. He made his getaway with $2,750 in cash in a Cadillac.

"He got fired on a Friday and robbed the bank Monday," Henrico Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Robert C. Cerrullo told Circuit Judge Gary A. Hicks yesterday.

Davis, a Chesterfield County resident who lived off Jahnke Road, turned himself in May 14, telling authorities that "he couldn't live with himself anymore for what he'd done," Cerrullo said.

And when Davis addressed the court at his sentencing yesterday, he told Hicks: "You couldn't be any harder on me than I've been on myself."

Hicks sentenced Davis to 20 years in prison, suspending all but three years.

Davis said he will live forever remembering the horrified look of fear that he saw on the bank teller's face. "I did a bad thing, but I'm not a bad person," he said.

Letters from friends and business owners backed that up. Even a 44-year veteran of the Henrico police department who was a friend of Davis' for decades, Investigator Rick Valentine, testified that Davis' arrest shocked him.

"Totally out of character," Valentine testified, noting that Davis had visited him the day before the robbery and had worried about his job, the economy and personal problems.

Davis served in the Vietnam War, earning Silver and Bronze stars. He had no criminal record. Davis' lawyer, William Viverette, begged Hicks to consider a sentence lower than the sentencing-guideline range, which started at two years, 11 months and went to six years, one month.

Cerrullo stressed the fear the teller experienced and Davis' warning to her that she would be harmed if she didn't do what he said. Davis had pretended to have a gun hidden in his clothes.

Davis told the court that he has found inspiration in programs at the Henrico jail to help with dependence problems, and he said he's now mentoring young people there to try to keep them off the streets.

"I can promise you this won't ever happen again," Davis said.

Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or .