Utah man politely robs bank for just $1

Salt Lake City, Utah - A man who desperately wanted to go to prison politely robbed a bank for $1, then sat and waited for police officers to arrive to arrest him.

A Utah man politely robbed a bank for $1 and waited for police to arrive to arrest him in an intentional attempt to go to federal prison (stock image).
A Utah man politely robbed a bank for $1 and waited for police to arrive to arrest him in an intentional attempt to go to federal prison (stock image).  © IMAGO / Panthermedia

According to a police booking affidavit obtained by KSL, a man strolled into a Wells Fargo, handing a teller a note that said, "Please pardon me for doing this, but this is a robbery. Please give me $1. Thank you."

The teller gave the man the dollar, asking him to leave, but he refused, telling the teller to call the police.

"Donald sat down in the bank lobby and waited for police to arrive," the affidavit continued. "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."

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"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."

Law enforcement arrived and arrested him without a struggle.

Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) have identified the man as Donald Santacroce (65), who was booked into Salt Lake County Metro Jail on one count of robbery.

The affidavit says that Santacroce told officers that he wanted to get arrested and sent to federal prison, adding "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 SLCPD have not said why the man wanted to get arrested so badly, but one social media user provided a suggestion: "Sounds like he just wanted to be off the streets and in a warm jail cell with 3 meals a day."

Cover photo: IMAGO / Panthermedia

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