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The bank robber who wanted jail

September 8, 2016

A 70-year-old man held up a bank in Kansas City and instead of fleeing with $3,000, he surrendered to police. His wish came true after a judge sentenced him to spend time in prison.

https://p.dw.com/p/1JxTF
USA Lawrence John Ripple Bankräuber
Image: Reuters/Wyandotte County Detention Center

Following a fight, Lawrence John Ripple told his wife that he'd "rather be in jail than at home," court documents showed.

He then walked to a bank in Kansas City, handing a note to a teller demanding cash and stating that he had a gun.

But instead of making a getaway from the Bank of Labor branch with $3,000 in cash, the 70-year-old took a seat in the lobby and told a security guard that he was the suspect.

The guard then called the police, whose station is on the same block as the bank.

Ripple later told the officers who took the money from him that he could no longer bear living with his wife.

He was charged in a federal court on Tuesday following the incident on September 2.

He is now behind bars after being taken to a federal jail in Leavenworth, Kansas.

The money was returned to the bank.

Court documents didn't explain the cause of Ripple's fight with his wife.

mm/jil (AP, Reuters)