A 59-year-old man recently walked into a bank in Gastonia, NC, intent on robbing one dollar — no more or less — from the financial institution. Was it because he was aiming low for his first foray into bank robbery? No, he says it was because he needs medical care and the only way he could think to afford it was by going to prison.

“It wasn’t done for the monetary value. It was done for medical reasons,” he tells WCNC-TV in the video interview below. “I went in knowing i was going to jail.”

In fact, the man told the teller he robbed that he was unarmed and that he’d be waiting for the police in a chair near the entrance.

Before going on his wild crime spree, the man, who says he’s got a bad back, sore foot and a growth on his chest, wrote a letter to the Gaston Gazette newspaper explaining his reasons and saying, “I am of sound mind but not so much sound body.”

The man has only been charged with larceny from a person, which carries a lesser penalty than bank robbery. His bail was reduced to $2,000 but he’s obviously refusing to pay it so long as he’s being tended to by doctors.

“If I had not exercised all the alternatives I would be sitting here saying, ‘Man I feel bad about it,'” he told the Gaston Gazette after his arrest.

Bank robber planned crime and punishment [Gaston Gazette via NY Times]

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