Kerri Smith just wanted a car to ease his college commute.

That’s why the 22-year-old New Orleans man, convicted last month, robbed Statewide Bank on Gause Boulevard two years ago, his defense team argued during his armed robbery trial.

On Monday, state district court Judge Peter Garcia didn’t buy the story or offer much leniency. Smith was sentenced to 35 years in jail. Smith faced no less than 10 years and no more than 99 years for the two counts of armed robbery with a firearm. Garcia sentenced Smith to 30 years for those Sept. 21, 2006, charges and added another five years for possession of stolen property valued at more than $500.

Smith, an O. Perry Walker High School graduate, admitted to Slidell Police he planned the heist for two weeks with his cohorts Robert Smith, 30, of Harvey and Ronnie Carter, 19, and Cornell Moore, 26, both of New Orleans. Neither Smith is related.

Smith, studying to be a mortician at Delgado Community College, just wanted to “go to school,” he told Slidell Police, but he needed a fast and easy way to buy a car to commute to classes. The robbery idea was hatched, he said.

The plot began with the crew stealing a black Ford Explorer from New Orleans car thieves as a getaway car.

Then the plan went sour.

As they held up the tellers, the foursome first found themselves fleeing with $40,000 in dummy money, stacks of $100 bills wrapped in electronic money bands designed to trip security alarms.

Then as they fled, two gunshots whizzed by from an off duty law enforcement officer who noticed the robbery and fired warning shots.

The gun blasts triggered a police chase, and with Moore as the alleged getaway driver, the crew ran a stop sign and smacked into a parked car at Military Road and Short Cut Highway.

Several trailing officers were there to make arrests.

“They planned it in Slidell expecting it to be an easy armed robbery,” said Rick Wood, spokesman for the District Attorney’s office. Apparently it wasn’t.

Smith’s three cohorts are awaiting trial, Wood said.