A 71-year-old man robbed a bank with the hope of being thrown in jail to avoid spending time with his wife... but it didn't go to plan for him.
Lawrence John Ripple, 70, entered the Bank of Labor, located just down the street from police headquarters in Kansas City, and handed a teller a note stating he had a gun and demanded money.
Remarkably, Ripple had written the note at home in front of his wife, telling her he would "rather be in jail than at home," according to the Kansas City Star.
After receiving nearly $3,000 in cash from the teller, Ripple did not flee but instead waited in the lobby for police to arrive.
Ripple's actions were influenced by his deteriorating mental health following multiple bypass heart surgery in 2015, which led to undiagnosed depression, his lawyers revealed.
Despite the robbery, Ripple had previously led a normal, law-abiding life as a husband and stepfather to four children. His public defender described the robbery as a "cry for help."
At his sentencing trial, Ripple expressed that he had sought medical treatment for his mental health.
In court, Ripple, accompanied by his wife and several family members, apologized to both the Bank of Labor and the teller. "It was not my intention to frighten her as I did," he said, adding that prison would have been more of a punishment for his wife than for him. "I feel great now. I feel like my old self."
In an uncommon move for such a serious crime, the vice president of the bank and the teller supported a request for leniency, considering Ripple's mental state.
Typically, a bank robbery conviction would result in a prison sentence of up to 37 months under local law.
Despite Ripple committing the crime with the intention of getting away from his wife, his punishment was probably the last thing he wanted.
Along with six months of house arrest, Ripple was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service.
He must also pay $227.27 to the bank, compensating for the billable hours of employees sent home on the day of the robbery, and an additional $100 to a crime victims fund.
"What's got lost in the news reports is that Mr. Ripple went to a bank, robbed it and never left," Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Catania said, noting that Ripple immediately returned the money when apprehended by a bank security guard and police.
Despite threatening the teller with a gun, the only items found on Ripple were nail clippers and a hairbrush.
