ALEXANDRIA, VA
A federal judge on Friday sentenced Wossen Assaye to 32 years in prison for two counts of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, authorities announced.
Both counts based on his armed assaults of two security guards during his March 31 escape from Inova Fairfax Hospital, officials said.
Assaye, of Arlington, was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount $34,870 for the 12 bank robberies, and was ordered to undergo drug testing and treatment in addition to a mental health evaluation and treatment, officials said.
Assaye, 43, pleaded guilty on July 23.
According to court documents, Assaye accepted responsibility for not only the firearms offenses, but also additional crimes.
Prosecutors said Assaye robbed various banks in Northern Virginia on 11 occasions beginning October 2013 until March 2015. In two of the robberies, he was armed. He escaped on a bicycle.
In another instance, Assaye entered a bank with the intent to commit bank robbery and larceny.
After being arrested for his crimes, Assaye escaped from federal custody while at a Virginia hospital for treatment, according to officials
During the course of his escape, officials said Assaye assaulted a security guard, overpowered her, and took her firearm. He then pointed the firearm at a second guard before pulling the first guard down the hospital hallway at gunpoint and fleeing the hospital.
“Dressed in a hospital gown and wearing no shoes, Assaye ran to to a nearby apartment complex where he hid in the trunk of a Toyota Camry for several hours. While the car owner was driving to work, he kicked through the back seat from the trunk and eventually stole the car,” Washington’s Top News reported
The news report stated that police arrested Assaye in the area of Minnesota Avenue and 25th Street SE after a nine-hour manhunt. His arrest came after a tip from a member of the public, who spotted Assaye on the street.