She robbed a West Columbia bank to pay her rent. It didn’t work out

Satorius Martin needed money to pay her rent. Her landlord threatened eviction. She was so distraught that she walked into Security Federal Bank in West Columbia and gave the teller a note:

“I have a gun & I will shoot you,” the note read. “Give me all the money out your draw (drawer).”

On Monday, Martin, 31, sat in a federal courtroom near downtown Columbia, listening to her public defender lawyer, Jenny Smith, trying to convince a federal judge that she deserved probation because, until that robbery, in June 2024, she had lived a hardscrabble but righteous life.

Martin had grown up in poverty, dropping out of high school but mostly staying employed and keeping away from drugs and crime, Smith and records in the case said.

Martin was such an inept bank robber that she was caught within hours of the robbery. She didn’t have a gun to back up her threat. She had gotten $2,042 and authorities — the FBI and West Columbia police — recovered nearly all of it. She pleaded guilty to federal bank robbery charges last summer. State charges of bank robbery against her were dropped earlier this year.

Federal prosecutor Michael Shedd told Judge Sherri Lydon that federal sentencing guidelines called for Martin to get at least 37 months in prison.

It didn’t matter that Martin didn’t have a gun. The teller believed she did and remains traumatized by the event, Shedd said.

Countering Shedd, Smith told Lydon that the guidelines were too high for Martin, who has mental health issues.

What happened was “a detour in an otherwise law-abiding life,” Smith said. Martin, whose family is in the Charleston area, was living in the Midlands alone and away from relatives, the lawyer said.

“This is not a sophisticated criminal,” said Smith. “She never, never intended to harm anyone. She is very remorseful ... This is very atypical behavior.”

As Smith argued for mercy and probation with strict conditions, Martin sat at the defense table, wiping tears from her eyes.

When it came time for her to speak, Martin stood and faced the judge. “I take full responsibility,” she said. The day of the robbery, “I was really in a bad spot ... I was going to be put out that same day. ... I would like for you to give me a second chance and show mercy.”

Toward the hearing’s end, Lydon acknowledged it was a very tough and complex case. Letters from Martin’s family had convinced her that the defendant is a smart and caring person and the robbery was a gross aberration from her life’s conduct.

“I have great sympathy for you,” Lydon said. “But I can’t have folks in the public thinking that if they are desperate enough, they can go rob a bank” and get off with probation.

Martin had no gun but what if the clerk or someone had had a gun? the judge asked. “The whole situation was fraught whether you had a gun or not ... It doesn’t get more serious than bank robbery.”

Lydon said she understood Martin’s situation that day. “You were facing severe distress” and without family, the judge said. “It was an extremely poor decision ... that explains your conduct, but it doesn’t excuse your conduct.”

Another dimension is that people in financial institutions including employees need to feel safe, Lydon said. It would “send the wrong message” not to give a prison sentence to a bank robber. “The teller and the community must be assured the law will be upheld.”

Lydon’s decision: 24 months in prison, or two years. The two years is more than a year less than guidelines called for. Martin will get likely credit for the six months she has been in jail.

After pronouncing sentencing and explaining her reasoning, Lydon wasn’t finished.

“Your life is not defined by the one worst thing you have done,” the judge told Martin. Take advantage of programs offered in prison, including getting a high school equivalency degree and mental health classes.

“You have a family that believes in you,” Lydon said. “You have shown remorse. I’m optimistic about your future.”