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May 28, 2008 7:28 pm US/Central
'Tattoo Bandit' Receives 19 Life Sentences
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ―
The woman police call the "Tattoo Bandit" received 19 concurrent life sentences for a 10-day crime spree last summer.
Phyllis Dawn Harvey will serve those sentences along with the remaining 20 years of her original 30-year sentence that she was on parole for when she committed the 19 robberies.
She will be eligible for parole in 50 years. Her lawyers say she will appeal the Tarrant County judge's decision.
Before being sentenced, Harvey spoke with CBS 11 News about the possibility of life behind bars.
"[I] just can't believe I did it to be honest with you," Harvey said as she sat with her court appointed attorney.
Harvey said she has thought about the sentence for her crimes and she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life behind bars. By entering a guilty plea, Harvey had hoped to receive a maximum 40 year prison term.
Fueled by a need for money for heroin and cocaine, Harvey began her crime spree July 21, 2007. Her victims, in six Tarrant County cities, were chosen at random. "I can understand the public's fear. But I didn't hurt nobody," she said.
Harvey robbed hotels, gas stations, phone stores and carjacked three people.
"Yeah I was like, once I got in trouble for the first one and I knew the police were looking for me, I was just like, 'I'm going back anyway'", the 34-year-old woman said.
Harvey said her crimes are the culmination of a lot of things. "I just had a bad two weeks, a bad couple of years, a bad life. Ya know what I mean?"
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