A Syracuse man now faces at least seven years in prison after admitting Wednesday that he robbed the Chase Bank branch just off the Syracuse University campus last August.

Mark Evans pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary and third-degree robbery — both felonies — before County Court Judge Anthony Aloi shortly after 8:45 a.m.

Evans, 55, of 120 Gifford St., was arrested Aug. 17 after Syracuse police say he took a taxi to the Chase Bank at 649 S. Crouse Ave. and then slipped a note to a teller demanding money. After he robbed the bank, police said Evans got back into the taxi. An officer spotted Evans downtown and tased him after he tried to get away. Money from the bank was found on him, police said.

In a separate case, Evans also admitted Wednesday to burglarizing a home in DeWitt on Aug. 15.

He’s served prison time for three prior felony and two misdemeanor convictions, said James Daley, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case. Police said Evans was paroled for a prior bank robbery not long before he robbed the Chase Bank branch. The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s website shows Evans has been in and out of prison since the 1980s.

The address listed for Evans is The Rescue Mission, an emergency shelter and center that feeds the hungry. The shelter is about a five-minute drive from SU.

Here’s how the sentences will work:

For the burglary charge, Evans will be sentenced to five years in prison and five years of post-release supervision. He will receive a two to four year prison sentence for pleading guilty to robbery.

But he also has time left on the previous prison sentence he was paroled on, which does not “expire” until 2018. That means he will likely serve about four more years after the other sentences are done. All of the sentences will run consecutively, or one after the other.

Handcuffed and chained around his walker, Evans occasionally looked up and made eye-contact with the judge. Evans has short, gray hair and is balding. He was wearing a green jail uniform and orange shoes.

When Aloi was asking Evans questions to make sure he understood the rights he was waiving by pleading guilty, a woman’s cellphone began going off loudly.

“At least she wasn’t wearing flip-flops,” Aloi said after the woman left the courtroom, remarking he also didn’t like the song that was playing.

Sentencing is set for May 7. Evans was not granted bail.

Published on April 17, 2014 at 1:53 am

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum