Last Friday, Lawrence John Ripple was at home arguing with his other half. He told his wife he would rather go to jail than live with her and informed her he was going to rob a bank so he could go to jail. The 70-year-old even wrote a hold-up note in front of his wife before he left the house.
Ripple then walked to the Bank of Labor in downtown Kansas City. He handed a note to a teller saying he had a gun and demanded money. The teller gave Ripple almost $3,000.
Instead of fleeing the bank, which is normal in these types of situations, surveillance video showed Ripple taking the money and then sitting down in the lobby of the bank. When a bank guard went over to him, Ripple told him he was the man they were looking for. The guard retrieved the money and held him for police although it never appeared the elderly gentleman had any plans on leaving the institution.
Ripple made sure the police would not be too inconvenienced in having to arrest him. The bank is located at 756 Minnesota Avenue while police headquarters is just down the street at 750 Minnesota Avenue.
After being taken to the police station, Ripple was given his Miranda warning and questioned by police and the FBI. He told them about the argument with his wife and that he told her he was going to rob a bank because he would rather be in jail than live with her. He also admitted he wrote the robbery note in front of his wife, Remedios Ripple.
Ripple was taken to the Wyandotte County Jail and later transferred to a federal prison. He was arraigned last Friday.
The Daily Mail reports a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Ripple, smiling and seemingly happy, was posted to Ripple’s Facebook page about two weeks ago. It is not known at this time if Ripple is in fact happier in the slammer than he was while living with his wife.
