NORTHAMPTON — Cathleen Lee told a judge Thursday how her life changed when she was held at gunpoint on March 28, 2016.
Now, more than a year and a half later, the bank branch manager watched as the man who held the gun, which turned out to be a spray-painted water gun, was led in handcuffs out of a courtroom in Hampshire Superior Court to spend nearly a decade in prison.
“My only wrongdoing on March 28 was to go to work and be a contributing member of society,” said Lee, the branch manager for a former Chicopee Savings Bank in South Hadley, as she gave a victim impact statement in court.
Edgardo Rivera, 34, of Springfield, was convicted of five counts of armed and masked robbery following his trial. Rivera robbed a Chicopee Savings Bank in South Hadley on March 28, 2016 and a Monson Savings Bank in Ware on April 2, 2016. Judge Richard Carey sentenced Rivera to eight to 10 years in state prison to be followed by five years of probation.
Two women — Jahira Flores, of Springfield, and Frances Deleon, of Agawam — were also arrested and charged in connection with the bank robberies. Flores is charged with three counts of armed and masked robbery in connection with the Ware incident. Deleon is charged with five counts of armed and masked robbery as well as two counts of conspiracy related to both robberies. Deleon testified against Rivera under a cooperating agreement with the prosecution. A total of approximately $10,000 was taken from the two banks.
Speaking to Judge Carey, Lee said she is the only person still employed at the South Hadley bank where the robbery occurred. Two other tellers who were working that day have since left the branch, which is now a Westfield Savings Bank.
“We were certain we weren’t going to make it out alive,” Lee said of herself and her former colleagues. “It’s something we’ve carried with us every day since then.”
Instead of her life flashing before her eyes, Lee said her life flashed forward to what would have happened to her terminally ill father without her. Every day she reports to work, Lee said she relives that March day.
Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Jennifer Suhl asked for a sentence of not less than 10 years but not more than 13 years. In arguing for the state prison sentence, she cited Rivera’s lengthy criminal record, which includes 23 convictions — 10 of them felonies.
Most recently, Rivera was indicted in Hampden Superior Court in 2012 on charges of armed robbery, possession of a class B dug and resisting arrest. He was ultimately convicted of a lesser theft offense, larceny under $250, and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to 2½ years in jail and then probation. Rivera was halfway through his probation when he robbed the Ware and South Hadley banks, Suhl said.
Rivera’s attorney, Alfred Chamberland, asked the judge for a prison term of five years — the mandatory minimum sentence for the charges of armed and masked robbery — as well as five years of probation.
“Ms. Lee didn’t do anything wrong,” Chamberland said. “Mr. Rivera is the one who did everything wrong that day.”
Rivera and Deleon used a water gun spray-painted black to “make sure no one got hurt,” Chamberland told the judge.
Throughout the trial, jurors heard from more than 20 witnesses, including bank tellers and managers and numerous police officers.
Rivera had been held on bail since his arrest in April 2016. He will receive 578 days credit for time already served.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.