'Pillowcase' Robber Gets Long PrisonSentence

SEATTLE - (07/11/05) -- An Auburn man known as the'Pillowcase Robber,' for the vehicle in which he carried out stolenloot, was sentenced Friday to 184 years in prison for a robberyspree police believe may have included as many as 20 credit unions,banks and check cashers. U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly imposedthe stiff sentence on 41-year-old bank robber Ivy Gaines because oflegislatively mandated minimum terms for defendants who usefirearms during robberies, and because higher courts have upheldheavy sentences in comparable cases. Gaines was convicted on 10counts of bank robbery, including the August 4, 2003 heist atWashington Employees CU and the August 7, 2003 hold-up at AlaskaUSA FCU. Authorities dubbed him the Pillowcase Robber because heoften handed tellers a pillowcase and ordered them to fill it withcash. Gaines was arrested after a hold-up at KeyBank when policefound a pillowcase with $15,000 stuffed in it in hiscar.