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NAACP: Why Did Barbie-Doll Bandits Get Lighter Sentences? |
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Tuesday, 08 April 2008 |
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CBS NEWS MARIETTA, GEORGIA Heather Johnston, above, received 10 years probation after she pleaded guilty to theft for her role in the 2007 heist. A judge gave 19-year-old Ashley Miller two years in jail and eight years probation. The head of the Georgia NAACP called for the state to investigate the sentences given in the so-called "Barbie bandits" bank theft case, saying the two white defendants got less prison time than two black men.
Edward DuBose said Monday he will ask state Attorney General Thurbert Baker to look into the case.
Baker's office said Tuesday the attorney general had not received any complaints in the case.
Last month, Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley sentenced 20-year-old Heather Johnston to 10 years probation after she pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by taking in the 2007 heist. The judge gave 19-year-old Ashley Miller two years in jail and eight years probation. Both women are white.
Michael Chastang, 28, was sentenced to 10 years for being the mastermind of the robbery, and bank teller Bennie Allen III, 23, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to five years. Both men are black. Chastang also is serving 15 years on unrelated drug-trafficking charges and Allen was on probation for a drug conviction.
Johnston and Miller - both former exotic dancers who went by the stage names "Charlie" and "Adrienne" - were nicknamed the "Barbie bandits" after they were videotaped wearing sunglasses and laughing as they appeared to rob a Bank of America branch in Acworth of $11,000.
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