When he robbed a bank on Monday, a 65-year-old Utah man was literally on his way to jail.
Donald Santacroce, 65, allegedly entered a Wells Fargo bank in Salt Lake City and politely demanded $1. He then sat and waited for the cops to arrive and arrest him. According to local media, the suspect attempted the robbery because he wanted to avoid going to jail.
The suspect entered the bank and handed the teller a note that read:
Please pardon me for doing this but this is a robbery. Please give me $1. Thank you.” The teller gave the man the dollar and asked him to leave, but he told the teller to call the police instead.
The man refused to leave. “Donald sat down in the bank lobby and waited for police to arrive,” the affidavit said. “While waiting for police, Donald made a statement to the victims that they are lucky (he) didn’t have a gun because it was taking the police so long to get there. At this point, the branch manager said she ushered all of her employees into a back room for their safety where she locked the doors.”
Santacroce was arrested by police when they arrived on the scene. He handed back the dollar bill to the officers. “Donald claimed he did it because he wanted to be arrested and sent to federal prison. ”
If Donald is released from jail, he stated that he will rob another bank and demand more money the next time in order to achieve the desired result of going to federal prison,” the affidavit stated.
At around 6:15 p.m. local time, he was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on one count of felony robbery. As of Wednesday, he was no longer in custody, according to NBC News.
It appears that this is not his first incident in recent days. According to KSL, Santacroce was arrested last week in Iron County by the Utah Highway Patrol on suspicion of driving under the influence and careless driving. State Troopers noted at the time that he had a suspended Missouri driver’s license.
The man refused to leave. “Donald sat down in the bank lobby and waited for police to arrive,” the affidavit said. “While waiting for police, Donald made a statement to the victims that they are lucky (he) didn’t have a gun because it was taking the police so long to get there.
At this point, the branch manager said she ushered all of her employees into a back room for their safety where she locked the doors.”
Police arrived on the scene and arrested Santacroce. He returned the dollar bill to the officers. “Donald said he had done this because he wanted to get arrested and go to federal prison. Donald stated that if he gets out of jail, he will rob another bank and ask for more money next time trying to get the desired result of going to federal prison,” the affidavit stated.
He was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail around 6:15 p.m. local time on one count of felony robbery. According to NBC News, he is no longer in custody as of Wednesday.
It does not appear to be his first incident in recent days. According to KSL, Santacroce was arrested last week by the Utah Highway Patrol in Iron County on suspicion of driving under the influence and careless driving. State Troopers noted that he had a suspended Missouri driver’s license at the time.
Bank robbery is a federal offense. Simply entering a bank, credit union, or savings and loan association with the intent to steal or extort property is punishable by a fine and up to 20 years in prison, according to 18 U.S. Code 2113. Taking property worth less than $1,000 results in a fine and up to a year in prison.
Several similar incidents have occurred in the past. In 2011, a North Carolina man robbed a bank for $1 in order to receive health care while incarcerated. The man, who was unemployed and suffered from two ruptured discs in his spinal column as well as a growth in his chest, hoped that a three-year prison sentence would allow him to receive adequate medical care. For the incident, he was charged with larceny.
A year later, in Orange County, California, a homeless man broke into a Wells Fargo and handed a demand note to a teller. He later told authorities that he did it because he wanted to be housed and treated in prison.
It was unclear what motivated Santacroce to rob the bank as of Wednesday.