Bank robber gets 115-year jail sentence

A Philadelphia man was sentenced today in federal court in Camden to 115 years in prison for committing a string of nine armed bank robberies in 2005 and 2006.

Earlier this year, a jury convicted the man, Kevin Taylor, 44, and his codefendant, Steven Gantt, 40, of Camden, of committing the robberies. Gantt is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25.

A third man, Walter Johnson, 33, of Camden, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Prosecutors said the men used stolen vehicles as getaway cars, wore masks and gloves during the robberies, and used handguns to take control of the banks.

Eight of the robberies were committed in South Jersey and one in Pennsylvania, netting the men about $130,000. All but one occurred at Commerce Bank branches.