Man behind bars for bank robbery

 
The verdict against 43-year-old Anirudh Lakhan Sukhu was delivered on Friday by the Maryland Court, which also sentenced him to four years of supervised release after completion of his 21 years and 3 months imprisonment, said US Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J Rosenstein.

According to his plea agreement, Sukhu met two conspirators, Sharman Said and Omar Burnett, on November 20, 2008 to plan a robbery of the Bank of America located on Ten Oaks Road in Clarksville, Maryland.

That same day, they rode to the bank in Sukhu’s pick-up truck and entered, brandishing guns and announcing the robbery.  Burnett brandished his handgun, vaulted the counter and demanded money from the tellers.

Sukhu, armed with a sawed-off 12 gauge shotgun, entered an office where a bank employee was hiding and ordered the employee to come out. “When the employee moved, Sukhu  shot her in the hand,” the plea agreement stated.

The robbers took $ 23,471 and fled from the bank in the truck. A witness called 911 and gave a description of the vehicle used in the robbery. Law enforcement officers pursued the robbers at high speeds through four counties. The robbers eventually abandoned the truck in Montgomery County near Said’s home and fled on foot.

Burnett was killed during an exchange of fire. The stolen money, a second handgun and a sawed-off shotgun were seized near Burnett’s body. Said escaped by hiding in his home, and was subsequently arrested on January 8, 2009.

Sukhu called 911 to falsely report that he had been the victim of a carjacking involving his pick-up truck, the same truck used in the robbery. During a subsequent interview with the police, he admitted to participating in the robbery and also that he was the robber who fired the shotgun, injuring the bank employee, the US Department of Justice said.