Published: November 03, 2009 12:06 am      

Appeal denied in bank robbery case

A Rockwall man has lost the appeal of his conviction for robbing a Greenville bank in 2008.

The Sixth Court of Appeals in Texarkana ruled against Jose Martin Guevara in a decision released Oct. 28, according to Hunt County District Attorney Noble D. Walker Jr.

“We are very pleased that this conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals,” Walker said. “My assistant Keli Aiken did a great job securing this conviction on appeal after serving as lead prosecutor at the trial court level.”

On October 28, 2009, the Sixth Appellate District Court at Texarkana, Texas affirmed Jose Martin Guevara’s Aggravated Robbery with a Deadly Weapon conviction. The defendant’s conviction resulted from his January 3, 2008 aggravated robbery of the American National Bank in Greenville, Texas where he was found guilty by a Hunt County Jury and sentenced to twenty-five (25) years imprisonment in the penitentiary.

Guevara was convicted in January in connection with the Jan. 3, 2008 robbery of the American National Bank location at 601 Joe Ramsey Boulevard in Greenville. Guevara tied up a female employee of the bank while threatening her with an ice pick, screwdriver or another form of sharp object during the robbery. He was arrested later that same day outside of a Rockwall residence and the money taken during the robbery was recovered. The jury took only about 25 minutes before returning a guilty verdict following a half-day of testimony.

Aggravated robbery is a first-degree felony, punishable upon conviction by a maximum sentence of from five to 99 years to life in prison, and an optional fine of up to $10,000.

The jury deliberated about 45 minutes before returning a sentence of 25 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division. As a deadly weapon was used during the commission of the offense, Guevara will have to spend at least 12.5 years in prison before being eligible for parole.