COURTLAND—A former Chesapeake police officer will spend 18 months behind bars for attempting to rob a Newsoms bank last year.

Southampton County Circuit Court Judge Westbrook J. Parker on Thursday sentenced Richard Eugene Boyce III, 33, of Chesapeake on felony charges of attempted robbery and wearing a mask in public. Boyce pleaded guilty in June.

The charges stemmed from a Dec. 2 attempted robbery at BB&T at 22334 General Thomas Highway. Boyce tried to enter the bank wearing a mask, but tellers inside refused to buzz him in. Boyce fled, leading officers on a pursuit that ended on U.S. Route 58 near the U.S. Route 258 interchange in Franklin.

Dr. Reuben Koller, a licensed clinical and forensic physiologist who is treating Boyce, testified that Boyce exhibited symptoms of borderline personality disorder and major depressive disorder.

People with Boyce’s diagnosis often do “self-defeating, self-destructive things,” Koller said.

Southampton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Cooke said but for the fact that bank tellers have to allow entry for customers, Boyce would’ve entered and robbed the bank. Cooke said the case needed to send a message that “this is not going to be tolerated.”

According to a Chesapeake Police Department human resources official, Boyce was an officer there from Nov. 16, 2000, until Oct. 16, 2003, when he was terminated. Officials declined to say why Boyce was terminated.