CONVICTION OVERTURNED IN BANK ROBBERY TIME ALREADY SERVED, BUT APPEALS COURT RULES EVIDENCE WAS INSUFFICIENT.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO

Staff Writer

PALMDALE -- A man convicted of charges in a 2004 takeover-style robbery of a Palmdale bank had his conviction thrown out on appeal, several months after he was released from prison.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal tossed 31-year-old Carlester Gresham's conviction for receiving stolen property, citing insufficient evidence.

"He was released about three months ago before the opinion came down. He served his time. It's one of those ironies," said Stephen Lathrop, Gresham's appellate attorney. "He has no relief. He doesn't get anything to compensate him for that."

Gresham, who received a five-year sentence, was one of five Los Angeles-area men charged in the case in which masked robbers fled after a dye pack hidden in the cash exploded all over them and their loot.

Darrell Thomas was sentenced to 83 years and eight months in prison and Marcus Young was sentenced to 64 years and eight months.

Each was convicted of 12 counts of robbery, taking a car without permission and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jurors also found true gang and firearm allegations.

A fourth defendant, Andre Germany, was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading no contest to two counts of robbery. Germany was not part of the appeal.

Gresham's brother, Kevin, also was charged but was federally prosecuted. Kevin Gresham and another man were alleged to be part of a group dubbed the "Cash and Carat" bandits because they robbed jewelry stores as well as banks, FBI officials said.

The three-judge appellate panel in a 2-1 decision also overturned two of Thomas' and Young's robbery convictions and threw out the gang enhancements against them.

The ruling said two bank employees were not victims because they worked in the lobby customer service area with no cash drawers at their desks and did not have authority over or constructive possession of the bank's money.

Thomas' appellate attorney, George Schraer, said the ruling, if it stands, would knock off more than 12 years from his client's sentence.

"The Court of Appeal had it right. There were 12 bank employees, some of whom handled money. Our argument with the two counts reversed was that these were people who opened and closed accounts, they are not employees who handle money. If the bank doesn't have them handle money, why should we find they have constructive possession?" Schraer said.

Deputy Attorney General Mary Sanchez said her office will not appeal the ruling reversing Gresham's conviction and the gang enhancements.

The office, however, will ask the California Supreme Court to review the dismissal of the two robbery convictions for Thomas and Young. She said the state's high court already has a similar case pending before it.

"Even if they have no money on them and are not the tellers, those kinds of employees still have constructive possession of money," Sanchez said.

The ruling said Gresham was found with $275 in his pockets, some of which had red stains on it. None of the stains tested contained red dye, which would identify it as having come from the bank robbery.

"(T)here simply is no substantial evidence that the money in Gresham's possession was stolen property," the ruling said.

In dismissing the gang enhancements, the ruling said the robbery took place far from the gang's home territory and there was nothing in the way the robbery was committed that suggested that it was a gang-related crime.