Mortgage Crisis Forces Elderly Man to Rob Bank

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Michael Casey Wilson, 69, of Santee, California plead not guilty Thursday to three counts of robbery and one count of falsely reporting a bomb to a business, and now sits in the San Diego central jail. Wilson said he and his wife, 73, who he described as a “gentle soul”, were facing a seventeen percent mortgage and the threat of homelessness. Wilson said he had been diagnosed with severe arthritis, sleep apnea, heart problems, and a disease he described as one “that makes you fly off the handle”.  Wilson said he was told by doctors he only had one to two years left to live.
Fearing for what he saw as his wife’s future living on the streets if he could not make their house payment, he hatched a plan with the hopes of getting $50,000 to pay off the rest of their mortgage and getting away. He allegedly walked into the Bank of America branch in the 4100 block of El Cajon Boulevard in City Heights, and handed the bank manager a demand note, saying he had a bomb. The branch manger was able to contact the police, and the other individuals in the bank were able to get outside unharmed. Wilson had planned on this being a one-on-one exchange with the branch manager, and when that fell through he knew the jig was up.  He was caught lying on a front porch near the bank with $107,000, according to prosecutors, shortly after the robbery.
Wilson has expressed his apologies for scaring the other bank employees. Describing himself as someone who has “never done a bad thing in his life,” Wilson says he felt trapped by circumstances.  Wilson could face more than seven years in prison, and his bail was set at $50,000. “Let’s face it,” Wilson said, “Here’s a man who (screwed) up his life and his family’s life but I did it with good intentions. Just stupid intentions.”

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