Elderly Man, 84, Who Robbed Bank Armed With A BB Gun Wanted To Be Sent Back To Prison

An 84-year-old man who reportedly robbed an Arizona credit union armed with only a BB gun has been sentenced to a harsh 21 years in prison on Tuesday, Aug. 17.

Robert Francis Krebs, 84, of Tucson, Arizona, who reportedly spent most of his adult life behind bars for robbing banks, has been sentenced anew to 262 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps on Tuesday, Aug. 17.

Krebs has also been ordered to pay an amount of US$8,385 as restitution, according to the United States Department of Justice.

On Jan. 12, 2018, Krebs, who was on probation in Florida, reportedly walked into a Pyramid Federal Credit Union branch on Tucson’s northern edge and threatened the staff with a BB gun before demanding cash.

He reportedly took off with about US$8,000 but was arrested the following day at a motel where he had been residing. Krebs targeted the credit union as he believed it was an easy target for robbery because there was no glass that separated customers and tellers.

Krebs, who's spent a lifetime in prison, reportedly committed the robbery to return to prison because he didn’t feel like he fit into society, according to Erin Carrillo, Krebs' attorney.

Krebs reportedly served more than 30 years for a 1981 bank robbery in Florida. He also spent three years in prison for embezzling US$72,000 from a bank where he worked as a teller in Chicago in 1966. He served an additional 17 years for theft and armed robbery convictions from Arizona dating to 1980, Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

Krebs, who used to wear a disguise in his previous robberies, did not wear one in the 2018 Tucson robbery because he wanted to get caught and return to prison. He also told the authorities that he committed the burglary because he was struggling to survive on his monthly US$800 Social Security payment. He added that the months before the robbery were the worst in his life.

Judge Zipps reportedly said during the sentencing that Krebs doesn’t appear to be remorseful, despite doing damage to society and inflicting fear on others.

“This is the same type of conduct that he has been involved with his whole life,” Zipps said.