Don’t Push the Button

A family moved from California to Texas to pursue a better life. The husband had lived and worked in construction in California for over 25 years, but then a friend made an offer the husband couldn’t refuse. Move his family to Texas and become a joint owner of a new construction business.

Once the family settled in Texas, the friend backed out of the partnership, and the family couldn’t afford to start a business on their own.

After that, the wive received a devastating cancer diagnosis. Unemployed and uninsured, the husband robbed a bank to make ends meet and pay for chemotherapy treatment.

He had no criminal record, and he had no plan. Someone drove him to ‘meet a friend.’ He put his bicycle in the back of their truck. When they arrived at the park where he said he needed to be dropped off, he rode away on the bicycle and said he’d be back shortly. Ten minutes later, he returned on his bicycle.

What the friend with the truck didn’t know was that he’d gone into a bank about one-half mile from the park wearing a coat, beanie, gloves, and sunglasses and handed the teller a note that said,

“There is a bomb. It is activated. Don’t push the button. No bait money. No ink.”

There wasn’t a bomb, but he had pipes and wires that looked like a homemade bomb. The teller gave him $2,500. Security cameras captured him riding away on his bicycle.

Local authorities released security camera images of the bike-riding robber. Someone at the park called in a tip which assisted law enforcement in finding the unemployed construction worker.

Before his trial, he pleaded guilty to bank robbery. A judge sentenced the 44-year-old man to almost five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered him to repay the stolen money.

A U.S. attorney associated with the case said,

“Prosecuting those violent crimes that touch upon the safety and security of our schools, universities, and financial institutions is of paramount importance.”

He appealed the length of his sentence. The appeal court upheld the sentence. He appealed to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.

Source: U.S. District Court, Supreme Court, U.S. Department of Justice, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, KCBD 11

All data and information provided is for information and research purposes only and not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. Appeals or overturned verdicts may have occurred in criminal cases since I researched them. All information is provided on an as-is basis.