Monday, Dec. 17, 2012

VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) -- A federal judge is sending three siblings involved in a cross-country crime spree to jail for more than 35 years.

Senior Judge Hugh Lawson sentenced Ryan Dougherty, Lee Grace Dougherty and Dylan Dougherty Stanley to identical sentences for their role in the robbery of a South Georgia bank. Their spree began in Florida and ended in a shootout in Colorado.

Lawson said it was a miracle that no one was killed.

Ryan Dougherty protested the judge's decision and called it rash.

Lawson sentenced each of the siblings to 35 years and 8 months. But the judge also sentenced the trio to five years of supervised release after their prison sentences.

The three have already pleaded guilty to Colorado charges stemming from their capture in August 2011.

(Copyright 2012, The Associated Press)