Man Sentenced For Series Of Bank Robberies While On Probation For Other Robberies

A Baltimore man previously convicted in a string of bank robberies was sentenced to more than 12 1/2 years in federal prison for committing eight more bank robberies or attempted robberies after his release.

Roger Irwin Harp, 50, was sentenced Monday to 151 months by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz after pleading guilty to bank robbery and violating conditions of his probation.

In 2002, Harp pleaded guilty in the same federal court to 12 bank robberies in 2001. He was sentenced to 151 months in that case, followed by three years of probation, which began upon his release in May 2014. In a plea agreement, he admitted to a number of bank robberies and violations of his probation.

While awaiting a court hearing for failure to adhere to the supervision requirements, he carried out a number of bank robberies in the city in March of 2016. On March 16, 2016, Harp walked into a bank and gave a teller a note saying, "Give me all the money NOW!! Before I blow your head OFF!!" The teller gave him $2,260 from a cash drawer. He robbed three different banks of $10,750 in that month. After three attempted robberies on March 21 of that year, he was arrested by Baltimore police.