Most people would go out of their way to avoid ending up behind bars, but one Utah man actually robbed a bank for only $1 just so he could get arrested and thrown into federal prison. 65-year-old Donald Santacroce just pulled off one of the most bizarre bank robberies in history. He reportedly walked into a Wells Fargo Bank near 300 South Main Street in Salt Lake City on Monday morning and handed over a note to one of the tellers. The piece of paper read “Please pardon me for doing this but this is a robbery. Please give me $1.00 Thank you.” The teller must have thought it was a joke, because they complied with Santacroce’s demand, but also asked him to leave with his $1. Only that he told them that he had just robbed the bank and that they should probably call the police. He then sat down in the bank lobby and waited to be arrested…
As the bank manager was ushering the bank employees into the backroom for their safety and locking the doors, the elderly bank robber could be heard complaining about how long it was taking the police to get there.
“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,” the arrest affidavit said. After a while, police arrived and arrested the 65-year-old, not knowing that this had been his plan all along. No one really knows why, but he apparently really wanted to end up in federal prison. He even told the officers that should he be put in jail and then released, he would just rob another bank for more money until he ends up in federal prison
As of Wednesday, Donald Santacroce was no longer in Salt Lake County Metro Jail, which probably means local banks should expect an- other weird robbery very soon. NBC News reports that the 65-year-old had been arrested last week for careless driving and having a suspended Missouri licence. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of people demanding to be put behind bars. There was the story about a guy who robbed a bank so that he could be arrested and spend some time away from his wife. There was also another man who stole from a store to get arrested because, according to him, he couldn’t afford to be free.
