Michael Butler receives 3.5 years in jail, pays full restitution
Michael J. Butler, the LaFayette man who pleaded guilty last October to robbing the Citizens Bank in DeRuyter of more than $3,000 on Aug. 26, was sentenced today to three-and-a-half years in state prison — with credit for time already served since his arrest — and five years of post-release supervision. His family also paid in full this morning the required $1,685 in restitution to the bank.
The sentence on the charge of robbery in the second degree, handed down by Madison County Court Judge Patrick O’Sullivan, was the minimum allowed under the previously announced determinate sentence range of up to seven years in state prison that Butler faced.
Madison County District Attorney Bill Gabor said after sentencing that while he respected the judge’s decision in the case, he “strongly disagreed with it in light of the facts of the case — the maximum sentence would have been a more appropriate deterrent and punishment for the defendant’s actions.”
O’Sullivan said during the hearing that his decision was based on his review of the case, the statements made by the district attorney, defense attorney and defendant in court this morning, and Butler’s cooperation with police after his arrest.
“Given your history, this seems like something completely out of character for you,” O’Sullivan said during sentencing. “[But] this is something we just can’t look away from; you had other options and you chose this path. … I believe you are sorry and recognize this was a great mistake for which you have to pay a price.”
Butler was arrested for robbing at gunpoint the Citizens Bank in DeRuyter of $3,868. During the robbery, Butler, who entered the bank wearing a disguise, displayed what was described as a flintlock pistol and demanded money. State police, Madison County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Cazenovia police officers mobilized immediately upon hearing of the robbery and scoured Madison County roads in search of the suspect. Butler was arrested by state police nine days later on Berwyn Road in Fabius.
During the investigation, state police recovered $2,183 of the stolen money. The investigation later showed that the flintlock pistol turned out to be a fake that was not in working order, Gabor said.
In court today, Butler’s attorney, Associate Public Defender David DeSantis, called this “kind of a tragic case” in that Butler was living with his mother and grandmother at the time of the robbery and had been “struggling for quite some time” with money and health issues, the latter of which being obesity and trouble walking. DeSantis urged the court to issue a minimum jail sentence based on Butler’s cooperation with police since his arrest, his acknowledgement of guilt and the fact that, other than some youthful offender incidents when he was 16 years old, he has no prior criminal record.
Butler, who appeared in court in an orange county jail jumpsuit and wearing handcuffs, made a statement during which he said he was “sorry for the whole mess. I feel like a failure because of it.”
“I was totally out of options at the time,” he said, adding that he had asked friends and even the government for financial help before he decided to rob the bank. He asked for the minimum sentence, stating, “I feel I still have something to contribute to this world.”
In his statement to the court, Gabor urged O’Sullivan to give Butler the maximum penalty of seven years in state prison with three years of post-release supervision. He said Butler undertook the robbery with “significant” planning and deception, causing a great deal of fear to the tellers at the bank.
Gabor said that while Butler has maintained the robbery was his “only option” at the time, “a lot of people in this country are under hardships, but not everybody robs banks.”
O’Sullivan agreed that Butler’s excuse for the robbery as being out of options was “unreasonable an explanation” and that it was “critical” that he receive jail time for the “appearance of violence” with which he threatened the bank tellers, which was “traumatic for them.”
After imposing the sentence, O’Sullivan wished Butler good luck in the future. “Think about what you’ve done and how you’ve actually hurt your mom and grandmother,” O’Sullivan said.
“I will,” Butler replied, before being led out of court.
