A 70-year-old Kansas man, John Ripple, in a desperate attempt to get away from his troublesome wife decided to rob a Kansas City, Kansas, hoping he would be sent to jail.
The man told court on Tuesday after he was caught while trying to rob the bank that it was as a result of the depression that he was suffering that he decided on the crime.
According to reports, it was last September that the desperate man walked into a Bank close to a police headquarters and handed over a note to a teller notifying him that he had a gun and wanted to be given money.
After given the frightened teller gave him $2,924, the 70-year-old took his time to wait for police to come and arrest him in the bank lobby.
As indicated in the court records, Mr. Ripple had the note he handed to the teller written in front of his wife whom he told he would rather prefer to be in jail than with her.
Although the crime could have seen him spending the next 37 months in prison, he got three years of supervised probation, as well as 50 hours of community service. This came after revealed to the court that he had had a heart surgery which left him depressed and unlike himself when he committed the crime.
More so, his attorney pleaded for leniency which was supported by the vice president of the bank and the teller whom Ripple frightened, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Catania.
U.S. District Court Judge Carlos Murguia also ruled that the suspect was to get six months of home confinement and was ordered to pay the bank he robbed $227.27 adding up to the billable hours for bank employees who were sent home on the day of robbery and he was to pay the $100 into a crime victims fund.
Before the incident, Ripple had lived a law-abiding life with no history of any crime.
According to public defender Chekasha Ramsey who stood in for him, the crime was actually a cry-for-help as a result of the depression that had built up in him but was not treated. She, however, assured that a proper diagnosis has been done and he has started treatment.
John Ripple was escorted to court by his wife and other members of his family.
