Freeport Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Baldwin Bank with a Pellet Gun in November 2008

Peetz receives commitment from judge of 16 years to life in prison

MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Eugene Peetz, 47, of Freeport, has pleaded guilty to the pellet gun robbery of a Baldwin bank last November.  In exchange for his guilty plea a Nassau County judge has agreed to sentence the defendant to 16 years to life in prison.

Peetz pleaded guilty Monday to Robbery in the Second Degree. He is due back in court for sentencing on October 2, in front of Nassau County Judge Meryl Berkowitz. Peetz’s criminal record deems him a “mandatory persistent violent felony offender,” a status that automatically adds life to the end of any sentence imposed by a judge.

Rice said that at 2:25 p.m. on November 3, 2008, Peetz entered the Washington Mutual kiosk-style bank on Sunrise Highway in Baldwin. Armed with a black pellet gun, Peetz pointed the weapon at the teller and demanded money. In this particular bank, the teller drawers contain no money, but customers are given a code that they then enter into an automated kiosk to receive their money. The bank manager entered a code into the kiosk and gave Peetz $1,000.

As Peetz left the bank, a customer inside called a friend waiting outside the bank. The friend, an information technology employee with the Nassau County Police Department, pursued Peetz on foot through the parking lot and into a residential area. Peetz turned and pointed the gun at his pursuer and threatened to shoot him if he did not stop following him. The pursuer continued to follow Peetz, eventually losing him on Edna Court. Police located Peetz hiding in an Edna Court backyard.

“Mr. Peetz deserves a lengthy prison sentence and that’s exactly what he’s going to get as a result of this conviction,” Rice said. “The bravery of the police department employee helped take this defendant off the streets.”

Handling the case for the DA’s office is Assistant District Attorney Everett Witherell of the DA’s County Court Trial Bureau. The defendant is represented by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County.