An Oregon man who was potentially facing a life sentence in connection with a Vancouver bank robbery was instead sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison.
Andrew Lee Lehr, 48, of Aurora, Ore., pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to first-degree theft, third-degree assault, attempt to elude and first-degree malicious mischief. He was accused of robbing a Vancouver Wells Fargo bank branch at gunpoint in June and then leading police on a high-speed chase, at times reaching speeds of 100 mph.
Lehr was originally charged with first-degree robbery and other crimes that would have counted as his third-strike offense — state law dictates that offenders convicted three times of certain violent felonies receive mandatory life sentences. However, the strike-offense was dropped as part of a plea agreement.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said that the plea deal was “out of the ordinary” but was reached, in part, because no one was injured in the incident, and Lehr did not use a “real” firearm; it was an airsoft pistol. Still, the plea agreement was for an exceptional sentence about four times greater than the standard sentencing range.
Lehr agreed to serve five years on each count to run consecutively.
Vu said that Lehr entered the bank at 8211 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive on June 13, pointed a firearm at one of the tellers and demanded money. He received about $6,000 and ran from the bank.
Police spotted Lehr speeding away in his vehicle and gave chase east on state Highway 500, north on 117th and west on 78th Street. Vu said that Lehr drove into oncoming lanes and rammed another vehicle while fleeing. He eventually lost control of his vehicle near Northeast 47th Avenue and East Minnehaha Street, where he crashed into a fiber optic box owned by CenturyLink.
Lehr ran from the scene but was captured with the help of police canines. Police recovered the money and airsoft pistol from Lehr’s vehicle, Vu said.
Lehr was reportedly on federal probation for a previous robbery conviction at the time.
He has criminal convictions for theft and robbery dating back to 1998 in a number of states, including California, South Dakota and Oregon, Vu previously said.
And according to the Department of Justice, Lehr also robbed the Vancouver Mall Wells Fargo branch in 2003.
On Monday, Lehr’s defense attorney Gregg Schile said that his client understands what he did was wrong and wants to take responsibility for his actions. A tearful Lehr declined to address the court.
Judge Derek Vanderwood told Lehr that his choices put many lives in danger, and there’s no excuse for his behavior. He agreed to follow the attorneys’ sentencing recommendation.
Authorities previously identified Lehr as Oregon’s suspected “Sporty Spice bandit,” a name conferred by the FBI.
Investigators believed Lehr robbed a Key Bank branch in Tigard, Ore., on June 2 and another Key Bank in Wilsonville, Ore., on June 7.
The robber was dubbed the Sporty Spice bandit because of the athletic apparel he wore in both robberies.
Lehr had not been charged in those incidents at the time of his arrest in the Vancouver robbery, and it was not immediately known Monday evening if he’s facing charges in those incidents.
