Sean Joel Nesmith isn’t your average bank robber.
The Ocean Beach man, who served three tours in Iraq before he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps, was released from county jail Nov. 1. A San Diego Superior Court judge gave him credit for the 50 days he spent behind bars after holding up a Bank of America branch in Point Loma.
Unlike most bank robbers, Nesmith had never been arrested before and he has no criminal record, according to the probation report prepared for the judge. The reason for the bank robbery is also unlikely: Nesmith claimed he needed the money to pay for child support of his 3-year-old daughter, as he is separated from his wife.
Judge Timothy Walsh ordered Nesmith, 23, to seek an evaluation and treatment from the Veteran’s Administration for post-traumatic stress disorder that he may have acquired while in Iraq. Walsh ordered Nesmith to return Nov. 15 with proof of a VA evaluation.
Nesmith was placed on five years probation, given a suspended one-year jail term and ordered to pay $1,127 in probation costs. The judge banned him from drinking alcohol for five years and ordered him not to use or enter any Bank of America branch while on probation. He is also ordered to have no contact with Bank of America workers.
“Jail has been an eye opener for me. It has helped me realize what is more important in my life,” said Nesmith in an interview by the probation department. “Jail is not the place for me. These other people in here use drugs and have no goals.”
Nesmith pleaded guilty Sept. 26 to robbing the bank branch located at 1275 Rosecrans St. on Aug. 13. He could have received a maximum five-year term in state prison and a $20,000 fine. Walsh fined him $439.
A witness followed Nesmith in his Toyota after the robbery, and wrote down his license plate. Within hours, San Diego police arrested Nesmith at his apartment on Niagara Avenue. Of the $800 taken, $680 was recovered. Nesmith said he spent some of the money on gasoline and food. He was ordered to repay $120 to the bank.
“I lied when I said I had a gun, but I feel remorseful for what I must have done to the teller. I still can’t believe I did it. It is not my character to inflict mental anguish,” said Nesmith in his probation department interview.
“I knew the people were trained to give me the money, so I said I had a gun but I didn’t,” Nesmith said. “I was looking for an adrenaline rush like the ones I got from Iraq when I was doing raids.”
Nesmith said he happened to be part of the group that brought down the statue of Sadaam Hussein in 2003. He joined the Marines when he was 19 years old and was last in Iraq in February.
Walsh ordered Nesmith to pay $570 back to the county for the cost of a court-appointed attorney. If he violates any terms of his probation, he could have to serve all or part of the one-year suspended term.