Paul Simon sings about how there must be 50 ways to leave your lover. There are a lot of them, to be sure. Bank robbery probably is not on very many people’s lists. In Louisiana, the remedy for legally cutting ties with a spouse or dealing with some other domestic issue is through the family law courts. And consulting with a skilled lawyer about possible options is always advised before taking any action.
This might be a question a Kansas man is pondering now. The back-story remains murky, but what seems apparent from the news reports of his case is that he is no longer happily married to his wife. In a bid to get away from her earlier this month, he allegedly opted to rob a bank and go to jail rather than stay under the same roof with her.
The FBI described the situation this way. The 70-year-old man walked into a bank just a block away from a local police station in Kansas City. The official report says he handed a note to a teller that read, “I have a gun, give me your cash.” The demand was met, the man took nearly $3,000 in cash, sat down in the lobby, chatted with a guard and waited to be arrested.
While being questioned by authorities, the man is said to have related that had fought with his wife. Fighting apparently is common in their relationship because he said he was tired of it and wanted out. So, he says he wrote out the hold-up note in front of her, told he’d rather be in jail and robbed the bank.
Here’s the dilemma. At his arraignment on the robbery charge, the magistrate ordered the man released on his own recognizance. His day in court will come, but for now he’s sort of back where he started.
Most legal experts would argue that that is not the ideal outcome.