Man found guilty of robbery during the jury’s lunch break

By Jim Haley

Herald Writer

Curtis Anthony Sherman is not a smart crook.

A jury Tuesday said as much when, within 45 minutes, members had time to order lunch, eat it and convict Sherman of first-degree robbery for a Jan. 5 bank heist in Everett.

Hansel and Gretel of storybook fame deposited bread crumbs as clues to their whereabouts, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Mark Roe said. "This guy left a trail of loaves."

Sherman was previously convicted of a dozen felonies, including theft, burglary and auto theft. Sherman, 35, was released from prison on Christmas Eve.

But he seemed bent on going right back, Roe said.

On Tuesday, he was convicted of robbing a south Everett Wells Fargo bank branch after borrowing a sheet of yellow paper and a pen from a cab driver who was helping him look for a bank that was open on Saturday.

He used the paper to write a holdup note that was easily traced to the driver’s pad. While en route to the bank branch in a Fred Meyer store, he had the driver stop at a convenience store. He emerged with a bandage covering a scar on his face and a pair of sunglasses.

The cab driver waited for him in the Fred Meyer parking lot, but Sherman never returned. She called police to tell them she had been stiffed about the same time the alarm went out for the bank robbery.

Her description of Sherman and that of the bank robber with the bandage and sunglasses was similar.

The next day, Sherman was stopped inside the same Fred Meyer for shoplifting. The police officer who responded happened to have put together a photo lineup containing Sherman’s photo that was identified by the Wells Fargo bank teller as the robber, Roe said.

In addition to this heist, Sherman is still charged with a bank robbery at a Key Bank branch on Jan. 4. In that robbery, the holdup man also handed the teller a note asking for cash.

When the teller turned the note over, however, she saw the name and a telephone number of Sherman’s girlfriend, Roe said.

Roe said Sherman is scheduled to be sentenced March 21. The prosecutor will ask the judge to sentence him to nearly 15 years in prison.

You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447 or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.