A federal judge sentenced a woman to almost 10 years in prison for driving a getaway car during a bank robbery last year.
      Three other offenders were sentenced in April, said United States Attorney Ed Tarver.
      Tymesha Hamilton, known by the nickname "Savage Doll," was sentenced in federal district court Thursday in Statesboro "for her role as the getaway driver and organizer in an armed bank robbery of the Geo Vista Federal Credit Union that occurred in Statesboro, Georgia on September 7, 2010," he said.
      Nicholas O'Brien "Hocus Pocus" Roberts, 23, Glennville, was a teller at Geo Vista and apparently plotted with Hamilton to orchestrate the robbery. Hamilton then "recruited" Marcus Dar-Rell "Q" Dean, 22, The Pointe at Southern, and Clifton "Twinkie" Allen, 22, Seasons Apartments, as gunmen, he said.
      The men were sentenced in April, but the U.S. Attorney's Office did not release information about the April sentencing until Hamilton's sentencing was complete, said First Assistant U.S. Attorney James Durham.
       Hamilton was sentenced to nine years and seven months in prison; Roberts received nine years and 10 months in prison; Allen received nine years and six months in prison and Dean was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison.
      All four must also pay $17,200 in restitution (to be paid jointly and severally with her co-defendants), a $2,400 fine, and five years of supervised release, he said.
      "The U.S. Attorney's Office will not tolerate violent crimes of this nature," he said. "The armed bank robbery at the Geo Vista Federal Credit Union put the lives of several bank employees in jeopardy as guns were pointed directly at them and they were forced to dispense money to the masked gunmen.
      "We will continue to work with law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute these violent crimes to ensure the safety of those in our community, especially in their work places," Tarver said.
      As evidence was presented in court, it became clear through all four defendants' guilty pleas That Roberts, as a cr4dit union employee, worked with Hamilton to plan the robbery. Then, she recruited Dean and Allen to actually perform the robbery at gunpoint, he said.
      It was 4:20 p.m. when Hamilton drove Dean and Roberts to Geo Vista Credit Union on South Main Street while Roberts worked.
      Dean and Allen took approximately $27,000 in cash, then fled, he said.
       The Statesboro Police Department responded, and involved the Federal Bureau of Investigation into the case due to its being a bank robbery, he said.
      Tarver praised the extensive efforts of both the Statesboro Police Department and the FBI naming Statesboro FBI Special Agent Cornelius Harris and Detective Sergeant James Winskey in particular. Winskey and Harris investigated the case.

      Holli Deal Bragg may be reached at (912) 489-9414.