Apparently California hasn’t gotten the message that it doesn’t matter if you don’t pay your mortgage. The headline out of San Diego, California, is “69 Year Old California Man Robs Bank to Pay Mortgage”. Normally I’m pretty harsh on these kind of stories, but for some reason this story actually made me feel badly for the guy. 69 year old Michael Casey Wilson from Santee California went into a San Diego, California, Bank of America with a note demanding money and claimed he had a bomb. He got out of the bank with over $107,000 before he was captured a short distance from the bank.
Wilson claimed to need $50,000 to save his home. Wilson lives with his 73-year-old wife in Santee, California. In an interview Wilson stated that he feared for he and his wife if they had to live on the streets if they lost their home. Wilson also claims to suffer from severe health problems including sleep apnea, arthritis, and “emotional issues”. These claims don’t seem to be too far fetched once you get a look at Wilson.
Below read Wilson’s own words about the robbery and see a video of his jailhouse interview.
Michael Casey Wilson’s story can be found here, here and here. He was charged with three counts of robbery and a count of making a false report of a bomb to a business. He has plead not guilty to those charges.
Wilson was quite frank about his plan to rob the bank and his motivation behind his actions. He claims he simply wanted to get the money to pay off his mortgage and that he didn’t want to hurt anyone. He claimed the following during his jailhouse interview:
“I was hoping to get $50,000 to pay off my mortgage,” he said. “Just to get the money and get the hell out of there.”
According to reports he wanted to get a taxi and drive with the bank manager to the San Diego airport, drop off the manager at the airport and take another taxi home. He also estimated his chances of success at 50% but claimed those were good enough odds because “I’m dying anyway so what different does it make?” He now faces up to 7 years in prison.
He also claimed that his interest rate on his home was 17%. I think if I had that rate I’d consider robbing a bank to pay off the mortgage as well. I wouldn’t do it, but I’m sure the thought would cross my mind. The saddest part of this story is how defeated Wilson sounds as he discusses his actions. In words that would be comical if they weren’t so depressing, Wilson stated:
“I’m an asshole. Let’s face it,” he said. “Here’s a man who f–ked up his life and his family’s life but I did it with good intentions. Just stupid intentions.”
Here is the video clip of Wilson’s jailhouse interview.
September 21st, 2009 at 2:05 pm
[...] interesting post at RightJuris.com has the [...]
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:32 am
Just read that the FDIC has about 6 months of bank account protection left. I am hearing my grandfather’s tales of the Great Depression in my head.
The guy was desperate. How about a judge helping him figure out how to stay in his house. Maybe he and his wife could rent out a room or 2 to someone? He wrote an apology note to the bank employees while in jail. Who does that? He didn’t use a gun.
Yep, bad man, but desperate. Show some compassion.
Probation. Community service of some kind.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 am
This is a typical scenario for a lot more people than the general public is aware of, right now. Suffering financially, thanks to over bonused, greedy wall street brokers and company execs. Frankly, I think, pick any fat-cat, take his bonus, and pay off this guy’s mortgage. I have compassion. It could be any of us, in the next few years.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:50 am
I as well feel bad for the guy but I think he approached the situation the wrong way. He was thinking about the safety of him and his wife only. It’s probably all he’s got in life and dose not want to loose that. Maybe he has no were else to turn. Who in this world is going to care about weather or not this man and his wife have a roof over their head?
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
BAC holding him to 17% interest on a home mortage? To me, they’ve been robbing him and he was returning the favor. This is one of countless stories that could end up the same way without some real ACTION instead of TALK. Consumers are prey to these commercial banks like BAC, not “customers”. Where’s the gov’t oversight the Obama Admininstration promised? We need usury laws now!
September 26th, 2009 at 10:55 am
well the SLA use to think it also had good reasons to rob and shoot up banks too. Yes there are a lot of what should be termed criminals running our society, but I think each of us should choose not to do crimes that hurt people. He chose to do that type of crime so he should get that type of time. He may be deranged, but that is no excuse for getting away with robbing a bank.