A judge Tuesday sentenced a Pittsburgh man to nearly a decade in federal prison for robbing three Shadyside banks, rejecting a request for leniency because of the defendant’s mental illness.
The federal public defender who represents Rashon Coleman, 31, of the city’s East Liberty neighborhood, maintained his client’s schizophrenia and intellectual disabilities merited extensive mental health treatment or placement in an assisted-living facility.
Prosecutors disagreed. They argued that only a cell would prevent Coleman’s recidivism and ensure public safety.
“The only thing that will stop Mr. Coleman from hurting others is a lock and a key,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Spindler said.
In the end, U.S. District Judge Marilyn J. Horan sided with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, sentencing Coleman to 110 months in jail, followed by three years of supervised release.
Coleman also has to forfeit more than $30,000 to the U.S. government, some of it as restitution.
A bank teller from one of Coleman’s robberies sat Tuesday in the courtroom gallery, one of just two people who attended the hour-long sentencing. She declined comment after the sentencing.
In April 2023, Coleman, sporting flip-flops, used a blue and orange Nerf-style gun to rob a pair of Shadyside banks over two days, according to criminal complaints.
He was soon arrested and confessed to the robberies, police said.
A month later, Coleman fled from the alternative housing where he was being held and returned to rob one of the same banks. He was arrested again.
Jake Morrison, Coleman’s lawyer, told the judge that his client’s actions were deeply influenced by lifelong battles with mental health issues, struggles with substance abuse and homelessness. Both of Coleman’s parents abandoned him as a child, according to Morrison.
“He has nobody to support him … he is truly and utterly alone in this world,” said Morrison, turning to wave his arm around the nearly empty courtroom.
“We are asking this court to impose a sentence that’s different than the guidelines because Mr. Coleman is different than people who typically appear before this court,” he said.
Since Coleman had a criminal history, including guilty pleas for retail theft and disorderly conduct, he faced an estimated 110 to 137 months in prison, prosecutors said in a recent court filing. Morrison sought a 60-month sentence.
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Coleman, clad in an orange prison jumpsuit, pleaded with the judge for leniency. He told her he was “so sick” at the time of the robberies and had recently started using heroin. He stressed that nobody was injured during the robberies and said the stolen money was returned.
“I will never do such a thing again,” Coleman told the judge.
Earlier in the hearing, the prosecutor said Coleman can’t use his problems as an excuse to harm others.
“He’s repeatedly demonstrated how he rewards leniency with violence,” Spindler said. “His trauma simply does not give him license to cause trauma to others in our community.”
Horan stressed she had pored over court records and read Coleman’s mental health report multiple times. She also watched surveillance footage captured during the bank robberies.
In one, Coleman entered a Centre Avenue bank and started screaming “This is a bank robbery, everyone get down!” according to a criminal complaint. Prosecutors said Coleman also threatened to kill bank tellers.
Horan said she weighed punishment, rehabilitation, deterrence and protecting society when calculating the 110-month sentence.
She repeatedly called the sentence “sufficient but not greater than necessary.”
“I wish you all the best, Mr. Coleman, I really do,” Horan said before leaving the bench.
Coleman turned to his attorney before authorities placed him back in shackles.
“You have a good one,” Coleman said.