Getaway driver to serve 58 months for two bank robberies

A 34-year-old Norwich man who served as the getaway driver while his ex-wife held up two city banks in October 2010 apologized as he was sentenced this morning to 58 months in prison.

Marwan Chankar had pleaded guilty to two counts of accessory to first-degree robbery and to failure to appear in court.

Chankar and his ex-wife, Tonya Viens, had been living out of a purple van and using drugs when they carried out the robberies, according to court testimony.

Prosecutor Stephen M. Carney said Viens walked into the Dime Savings Bank and the Core Plus Credit Union on Oct. 21 and Oct. 28 and handed the tellers a note claiming she had a bomb and demanding money. She took $2,716 from the Dime Bank and $1,400 from Core Plus.

Before the judge handed down the sentence, Chankar read a letter apologizing to his mother and sister and to the bank tellers who were put in danger. He said at the halfway point of his life, he remains unstable and has no career.

“I need to change,” he said.

Chankar had posted bond following his arrest and had failed to show up in court on August, 24, 2011, according to the state. His attorney, Paul F. Chinigo, said Chankar had been using drugs and decided to check himself into a rehabilitation program. He turned himself in upon his release from “detox,” Chinigo said.

Judge Patrick J. Clifford told Chankar he didn’t help himself by failing to come to court and noted he had a previous robbery conviction. Viens has always claimed she committed the robberies at Chankar’s urging, Clifford said.

“The two of you were on a drug binge and you were desperate,” he said. “The (security) cameras were rolling, and it was only a matter of time before you were caught,” he said.

Viens, who had a minor criminal record, is serving a 55 month sentence.