A remorseful 71-year-old man who robbed a Kansas City, Kansas, bank told police he hoped to land in prison to escape his wife. Lawrence Ripple said that heart surgery had left him depressed and not himself when he committed the crime. Although he faced up to 37 months in prison, his attorney and federal prosecutors asked a U.S. District Court judge for leniency. That request was supported by the vice president of the bank and the teller whom Ripple frightened. As a result, U.S. District Court Judge Carlos Murguia sentenced Ripple to 6 months of home confinement. Ripple will also serve 3 years of supervised probation, including 50 hours of community service. He was ordered to pay $227.27 to the bank he robbed, which represented the billable hours for bank employees who were sent home on the day of the robbery, and $100 to a crime victims fund. Calling the robbery a “cry for help,” public defender Chekasha Ramsey said that Ripple has since been properly diagnosed, is on medication, and feels like his normal self again.
