The Nagoya High Court on Monday upheld a 15-year sentence for robbery for a 73-year-old man, but it dismissed a lower court determination he intended to kill his victim.
The high court rejected the lower court's ruling that Hiroshi Nakamura shot with intent to kill when he wounded a guard during an armored car holdup in Nagoya. But in keeping the sentence intact, it said this did not alter the serious nature of the crime.
Nakamura held up the vehicle on Nov. 22, 2002, and grabbed a bag of cash containing about 50 million yen outside the Oshikiri branch of UFJ Bank in Nishi Ward.
He fired shots at two security guards as they unloaded cash, wounding one in the legs. He was subdued outside the bank.
Nakamura had also been charged with concealing 10 guns and about 1,000 bullets at locations in Tokyo.
The Nagoya District Court in September sentenced Nakamura to 15 years in prison for robbery and attempted murder, judging him a skilled marksman who intended to kill the guards.
But the presiding high court judge, Junichi Koide, said Nakamura "aimed at the legs and therefore did not intend to kill."