Heroin-addicted Lottery Winner Pleads Guilty To 4 Southern California Bank Robberies

[Satanica]

https://www.dailynews.com/2018/03/1...ilty-to-4-southern-california-bank-robberies/

LOS ANGELES — A man who once won millions of dollars in the California Lottery pleaded guilty Thursday in downtown Los Angeles to four counts of bank robbery.

James Allen Hayes faces up to 80 years behind bars, with sentencing set for June 7 before U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to forfeit a light-colored Chrysler PT Cruiser, which was used in some of the robberies and earned him one of his two monikers — the “PT Cruiser Bandit.”

Hayes, 55, was also dubbed the “Seasoned Bandit” by the FBI due to the robber’s gray/white hair.

Hayes was indicted last winter in Los Angeles federal court in connection with a string of 10 bank heists between April and September in Pacific Palisades, Stevenson Ranch, Valencia, Newhall and elsewhere.

He pleaded guilty to four heists in Newhall, Valencia and Santa Barbara County, in which he got away with a total of about $40,000.
[....[
Hayes was working in Ventura as a security guard supervisor on the graveyard shift in January 1998 when he learned he had won the SuperLotto jackpot — a one-in-18 million chance. According to media reports, his ex-wife got half of the money and Hayes ended up with a $6 million lump sum and a $1,000-a-week heroin habit.

When tracked down and arrested by the FBI in October, Hayes was living in a garage, authorities said.

 

[ChaosKitty]

he looks liek he is 80 or 90 years old, wtf, people amaze me

 

[JackBurton]

What an embarrassing robber name, forever associated with the lamest soccermom car of all time.

 

[Sejanus]

Dumbass.
Too bad he didn't overdose and die.
His dealer is the one who won the lottery.

 

[Satanica]

http://ktla.com/2018/06/07/man-who-...ning-19m-lottery-jackpot-sentenced-to-prison/

[....]
James Allen Hayes was sentenced to 33 months in prison and was ordered to pay $39,424 in restitution, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Hayes pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robbery in February, a court filing from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
[....]
Much of the winnings, however, went to taxes and bad investments, his public defender, Hilary Potashner, said in a court document submitted in May. Half of the prize was shared with his ex-wife, his attorney added.

Hayes started to “suffer from the ‘lottery curse,'” according to the court filing.

He became addicted to opiates after undergoing back surgery, Potashner wrote. When the building he managed burned down in January 2017, Hayes lost his job and his home, the court filing said.

“Mr. Hayes lost his health insurance, and began replacing the opiates with heroin,” the attorney continued. “He rented a garage with his wife Stephanie, and he intermittently lived in his car.”

Hayes “ended up poor and destitute,” Potashner wrote, describing him as a “pitiful drug addict.”

Officials said the man spent $1,000 a week on his heroin addiction, Santa Clarita radio station KHTS reported.
[....]
In total, Hayes took about $39,424 in the robberies, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. According to his attorney, Hayes never had a gun despite claiming he did.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office recommended a 57-month prison sentence, while Hayes’ lawyer asked for a sentence of 12 months and one day.

Hayes had no prior criminal history other than two minor offenses in 1994, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

 

[Keepalowprofile]

He was facing 80 years in prison.

He got 33 months.


He should kill himself for the nickname alone. PT cruisers are total junk.

 

[notchback]

Much of the winnings, however, went to taxes and bad investments, his public defender, Hilary Potashner, said in a court document submitted in May. Half of the prize was shared with his ex-wife, his attorney added.

Hayes started to “suffer from the ‘lottery curse,'” according to the court filing.

I wonder how the ex-wife is doing.

 

[JackBurton]

God i fucking hate old white people. They think they own the world, and with good reason. If this was a minority, especially a young one, his life would be over, decades behind bars.

Disgusting.