Lynn man receives at least 3 years for bank robbery spree

SALEM – A Lynn man who told police he needed money to pay bills so he went and robbed three downtown banks during a two-month crime spree last summer could spend up to three years in state prison before being placed on probation.In Salem Superior Court Monday afternoon, Scott Oliver, 48, who lived at 30 Franklin St., #2, Lynn, made his plea of guilty to three charges of unarmed robbery before Judge Timothy Q. Feeley.Oliver was sentenced to serve not less than a year and not more than three years. When he is released, Oliver will be on probation for another three years at which time he was ordered to pay $2,224 in restitution for two of the three banks he robbed.The crime spree began on July 29 when Oliver walked into the Sovereign Bank, located at 39 Exchange St. at approximately 4:30 p.m., and passed a note demanding money to the teller.Then nearly a month later, on Aug. 21, he entered the Salem Five Cents Savings Bank at 20 State St. and handed a note to the teller while telling her not to press the panic button. The female teller handed over a few bills. When Oliver demanded more, she informed him that was all she had in her drawer and he then fled from the bank.A week later, on Sept. 7, he went to Brotherhood Credit Union on his birthday.Police responded to the Brotherhood Credit Union at 75 Market St., at around 10 a.m. on a report of a bank robbery.The teller told police that Oliver passed a note demanding money but also left his license and the note on the counter. The teller then turned the license, which had an address of 8 Ray St., Lynn, and the note over to police.The teller handed over $3,092 in cash to Oliver, who then left with the money. Authorities went to his last known address on Franklin Street, where they found Oliver in the hallway.When police began to quiz him, Oliver blurted out “Damn, I left my ID on the counter there, didn’t I?”He went on telling police he was trying to get money because he “needed to pay bills.”The cash stolen from Brotherhood Credit Union was recovered, but the money stolen from the other two banks was not.Assistant District Attorney Jean M. Curran asked for a four- to six-year sentence with probation and asked that Oliver pay restitution for the money not recovered.Defense lawyer Alice Jayne pleaded for the more lenient punishment, which the judge adopted.Jayne pointed out Oliver’s minimum record while insisting there were no signs of drug abuse.She told Feeley that Oliver served in the Navy and was cooperated with authorities when he was arrested.In handing down the punishment, Feeley acknowledged that it had been 14 years since Oliver’s last offense while noting there were personal situations that may have played a role in his conduct.The judge credited Oliver the 123 days he has spent in jail awaiting trial on the case.