Lester Evans

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — A 68-year-old resident was sentenced on Monday to 27 years in prison for two counts of robbery including holding up a Fashion District boutique using a stun gun. Lester Robert Evans, a Downtown resident, plead guilty to the local charges and admitted to three prior robberies in California and Arizona.

Evans was dubbed the "Stun Gun Bandit" after robbing Day to Day Sales, Inc. last December at gun point, then pulling out a stun gun and shocking a clerk after she had handed him $650. In a press release at the time, LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon said, "It was completely unnecessary and just plain mean.”

Police arrested Evans in January after he robbed a bank where he had an account. Evans was already on parole for a previous bank robbery, and was held without bail.

District Attorney Eloise Phillips said that Evans' "could have faced a considerably longer sentence" but due to his age the current punishment was the humanitarian alternative. Phillips added that Evans will be eligible for parole when he's 91, "if he's good."