A Gentry man who robbed two Fayetteville banks and a business was sentenced to 45 years in prison Wednesday in a Washington County Circuit Court, according to prosecuting attorney John Threet.
Nathan Chism, 32, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, aggravated robbery and two counts of robbery. Chism was sentenced to 20 years for each count of robbery and 45 years in the attempted murder of Chris Leach, an employee at Arkansas Gold and Silver Exchange on College Avenue, during a June 21 robbery attempt.
The sentences will run concurrently.
Chism will serve a minimum of 32 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction before he is eligible for parole, Threet said.
Leach told police Chism chased him around the store with a knife and stabbed him. Leach was able to draw his gun and shoot Chism twice in the torso, according to a police report.
While Chism was hospitalized, investigators found evidence linking him to two bank robberies in his girlfriend’s car, police said. The girlfriend was able to identify Chism in surveillance photos taken when he robbed the Bank of America on Dickson on June 16.
Chism’s girlfriend also provided detectives with two Facebook photos showing Chism wearing the same fleece jacket and tennis shoes worn during the robbery, a police report states.
He was able to take $745 during the robbery at Bank of America but got away with nothing during an earlier robbery attempt at Bank of Fayetteville on Dickson on May 6, according Threet.
