La Mesan Convicted of Temecula Bank Robbery Could Get Probation

A La Mesa man convicted of robbing a Temecula bank last October will likely get probation, a judge said Friday.

Judge Elaine Johnson is scheduled to make the decision March 26 in a courtroom at the in the Riverside County town of French Valley.

Michael Joseph Hamel, 47, pleaded guilty Feb. 2 to two charges—robbery and burglary—stemming from a crime he committed  Oct. 27 at .

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Johnson will likely grant the La Mesan probation if a drug rehabilitation program will accept him, she said during a hearing Friday.

Prosecutors urged the judge to sentence the man to jail time.

“This was not a simple snatch and grab," said the prosecutor, Gregory Albright. “He committed violence against a person who happened to work for a bank.”

The man gave a letter to a teller reading, “Give me the top and bottom drawer. No bait, no GPS. I have a gun,” according to Albright.

The man stole $9,284 and used some of the it to buy marijuana, the prosecutor told the judge.

The man is addicted to marijuana and smokes five to six cigarettes a day, his attorney, Doug Kinion, said.

His drug addiction and his lack of any kind of criminal record are mitigating factors, the Judge Elaine M. Johnson said.

“This is clearly a very serious offense,” she said. “But it’s somewhat less serious than other bank robberies.”

He was also destitute, entangled in a messy divorce and fighting for his children’s custody, Kinion said.

This is still no excuse to rob a bank, the judge said. "There were plenty of other resources. He’s 47 years old, he could have figured something out,” he said.

Hamil may also face consequences with immigration. Hamil was born in Canada, and he’s “not sure” whether he’s a U.S. citizen, according to his attorney.

“The conviction alone will likely have him deported,” the judge said.