Cops: Bank Robber Told Teller He Had Given Him Too Much

Sandy Hawkins is an unusual bank robbery suspect in several ways: He is 73 years old, he said he wanted to be caught—and he told the teller he had given him too much money, police say. The Florida man is accused of robbing a Boca Raton branch of Wells Fargo on Monday. Police say Hawkins, wearing a "Make America Great Again" T-shirt and dark sunglasses, walked into the bank and asked the teller to give him $1,100. When the teller asked for his debit card, Hawkins said it was a robbery and claimed to have a weapon, police say. After the teller counted out $2,000 in $100 bills, Hawkins allegedly said it was too much money and he only wanted $1,100, reports the Palm Beach Post. Police say Hawkins lives near the bank and was not difficult to track down.

Police say they found out that the suspect was a former regular at a sports bar in the same strip mall as the bank; the bar gave them his home address. An arrest report states that when officers arrived at the residence, Hawkins said "I will make this easy " and handed them a bank deposit slip. Written on the back was "Give me $1,100 now. No alarms. Hope to get caught." Friends have no idea why Hawkins, who used to work in the air conditioning industry, would rob a bank, though they say he was devastated by the death of his wife in 2013. "He lost his wife and he wasn’t happy anymore, that's my theory," Addie Cestare, who has known Hawkins for 16 years, tells WPTV. The Boca Raton Tribune reports that police determined that Hawkins did not bring a weapon to the bank. (More bank robbery stories.)