Infamous 'Bouquet Bandit' Gets Up to 12 Years in Prison
Remember the gimmicky Bouquet Bandit from last summer? He was the gentleman robber who robbed a couple banks using only a bouquet of flowers. (We tried to nickname him the "Horti-Robber," but it didn't work.) The bandit, whose real name is Edward Pemberton, managed to pull off two bank robberies before being caught. Today, he was sentenced to at least six and up to 12 years in prison. 
According to the Daily News, Pemberton's lawyer Justine Luongo told the judge right before his sentence was imposed: "There is no indication in any of his crimes that he ever brandished a weapon. He would pass along a note with flowers." The lawyer said that Pemberton's alcohol and drug addictions were the "underlying factor" in his decision to rob banks with stolen flowers.
Pemberton, who says he'll go for his GED in prison, had explained his actions a year ago in a peculiar way: "The flowers were 'Thank you's' to people who were giving me something that didn't belong to them and didn't belong to me either."
[NYDN]
[rgray@villagevoice.com] [@_rosiegray]
Go to Runnin' Scared for more Voice news coverage.
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
