A Layton man with a serious gambling addiction was sentenced last week after he pleaded guilty in 2019 to robbing two Davis County credit unions.
Kevin Dean Rasband, 36, was sentenced April 26 to seven years in federal prison on three charges connected to two robberies in early 2017, according to federal court records. Rasband's court records did not say if he was given credit for time served while in jail, as he's been in the custody of the Weber County Jail since May 2017.
Rasband pleaded guilty to three felonies in October 2019, consisting of two counts of credit union robbery and one count of using, carrying or brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. An additional firearm charge was dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Initial charging documents say that Rasband robbed a Goldenwest Credit Union in Kaysville on Feb. 11, 2017, and a Utah First Federal Credit Union in Farmington on March 29, 2017. Rasband's charges initially accused him of brandishing a firearm in both robberies. He eventually pleaded guilty to brandishing a gun in the March robbery, while the charge accusing him of carrying a gun in the earlier robbery was dismissed.
A sentencing memorandum filed in April by one of Rasband's attorneys gives greater detail to the robberies and to Rasband's motivations behind the crimes.
The document states that Rasband committed the robberies to fuel his gambling addiction, which had spiraled out of control. Rasband began misleading his employer, the Davis County Recorder's Office, by clocking in at work, then driving to West Wendover to gamble, only to drive back before his shift was over. The county began investigating him for time card fraud in January 2017. Rasband left his job with the county rather than have others learn of his gambling, according to the memorandum.
Rasband went to great lengths to prevent others from knowing about his addiction. The memorandum says he would rent cars to drive to Nevada in order to prevent his wife from noticing the mileage on the family's car. Rasband also cashed out his 401K so he didn't have to use his salary on gambling. As his losses continued to mount, Rasband became more desperate.
"That is when he decided the only solution to his problems ... was to rob a bank and head back to Wendover," the memorandum says.
Rasband arrived at a Goldenwest Credit Union in Kaysville in a "heavy disguise and ambushed an innocent bank teller with a gun as she opened the bank," the memorandum says. He led the teller to the credit union's vault, and he later made off with $23,300.
"Over the next six weeks, Mr. Rasband attempted, through his self-perceived intellect and skill, to earn back all of his gambling losses," the memorandum says. "At the end of six weeks, Mr. Rasband was right back where he had been the morning of his first bank robbery — penniless."
Rasband decided to play his luck again, thinking that he would be able to recoup his gambling losses at the casino. He robbed the Utah First Credit Union in Farmington in a similar way to the first, though he and a teller had to wait for a second employee to arrive in order to open the vault, according to the memorandum.
However, as he was running away from the bank with a bag of money, a dye pack exploded. Rasband dropped the bag of cash, which also contained his gun, and he ran away. Police identified Rasband as a suspect almost immediately, as he had lawfully purchased the gun at a Cabela's in Farmington and registered it in his own name, the memorandum says.
Rasband was initially charged in state court with one count of aggravated robbery in connection with the March robbery in Farmington. However, prosecutors moved to dismiss the case after Rasband was indicted in federal court.
Court records indicate that Rasband, who as of Thursday was still in Weber County Jail custody, was ordered to pay $23,300 in restitution in connection with the Kaysville robbery. He is also ordered to forfeit a Ruger 9 mm handgun.
After his prison sentence, which court records say will likely be served at a Colorado facility, Rasband will be under supervised release for three years.