Two sentenced in Vision Bank robbery

Two of three defendants who robbed the Vision Bank in Port St. Joe on Dec. 20 of last year were sentenced during an emotional hearing on Thursday.

Jaylin Pittman of Port St. Joe, identified by his co-defendants as the first one in the bank and having fired a gun, was sentenced to 17 years in prison with credit for 296 days time served as well as $855 in court costs and fines.

The first 10 years of Pittman’s sentence are a mandatory minimum sentence for the first degree felony of robbery with a firearm. Pittman must serve at least 85 percent of the final seven years under sentencing guidelines.

Ricardo Clemmons, 21, also of Port St. Joe, pled no contest, was adjudicated guilty and under a plea arrangement was sentenced to six years in prison with credit for 296 days time served, plus court costs and fines of $855.

Clemmons plea arrangement, said State Attorney Tim Register, was based on the fact he was the lookout man and never entered the bank.

Pittman originally pleaded not guilty and went to trial on Sept. 20.

However, with Clemmons and co-defendant Deshaun Winfield, 20, prepared to testify against him during trial, Pittman changed his plea mid-trial to no contest and adjudicated guilty.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing before Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay, a series of relatives and friends of Pittman asked for mercy, noting that Pittman had no criminal record, was running with the wrong crowd and made a horrible decision.

“I have to believe Jaylin can be rehabilitated,” said his uncle Amos Pittman, Jr. “I know what he did was wrong. I am just asking the court to have mercy on Jaylin and his family.”

Pittman acknowledged his mistakes and stated a desire to help other kids keep from making the same decisions he did.

“I want to help people not make the same mistake I made,” Pittman told the judge. “Be your own self, don’t be a follower; be a leader.

“It’s not a joke, it is real. When you pick up a gun the consequences, the consequences are dire.”

Register argued that Pittman deserved significantly more prison time than his co-defendants – Winfield, who also entered the bank armed with a firearm, has accepted a plea deal under which he will serve 10 years in prison and is to be sentenced Tuesday.

Nancy Neal, the bank employee Pittman grabbed and pushed into the bank as she arrived for work, described the fear she felt as she heard a gun go off behind her – Register acknowledged the gunshot, which hit a wall outside the bank, was likely accidental – and Pittman threatening her with her life, saying, “Someone is going to die today.”

“I (now) know the fear and trembling that phrase brings,” Neal said. “In the end it was a conscious decision by them to commit a crime, a bank robbery.

“I see two robberies taking place, one of the bank, for not a lot of money, and the second (the defendants’) futures.”

While Neal escaped serious harm, she was badly bruised on both arms by the rough treatment as she was pushed in the bank.

Register said Pittman’s actions were senseless, illegal and planned out and he deserved a sentence of at least 20-25 years. Under sentencing guidelines of the 10-20-Life law, Pittman could have faced life in prison for firing a gun while committing a crime. 

“Every time I think of this case my blood boils,” Register said. “This is inexcusable. It wasn’t just a stupid decision, it was evil and illegal. He pointed a loaded firearm at an innocent woman just going to work and told her she had to die.”

Gay denied a defense motion to consider sentencing Pittman as a youthful offender – the defense argued for sentencing as a youthful offender given Pittman was 18 at the time of the incident – and also handed down a sentence beyond the 61 months, with 12 years probation, recommended under a pre-sentencing report.

According to law enforcement reports, the men entered the bank via a back door pushing Neal in as she prepared to open the back door.

A neighbor behind the bank called 9-1-1 around 8:20 a.m. ET saying the bank was being robbed and shots had been fired. Units from the Port St. Joe Police Department, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Gulf County Sheriff’s Office responded.

The three men made off with roughly $200 in coins.

All three were apprehended within blocks of the bank and in custody within 21 minutes.