Elderly criminal robbed bank because he didn't want to be at home with his wife

A pensioner grabbed almost $3,000 in a daring bank heist – before waiting in the lobby for police to arrest him because he would ‘rather be in jail than at home with his wife’.

Lawrence Ripple, 70, held up a bank in Kansas in September, and now faces up to 20 years behind bars after he admitted the crime on Monday.

The court previously heard how he had walked into the bank and calmly handed over a note demanding cash and warning that he was in possession of a firearm.

CCTV footage of the crime reportedly shows the elderly criminal approaching a young female blank clerk, before handing her a note that read: ‘I have a gun, give me money.’

But after grabbing almost $3,000, Ripple patiently waited in the lobby for police to arrive, telling a guard that he was ‘the guy they were looking for.’

Police later revealed that he had argued with his wife earlier in the day, and told her in writing that he would ‘rather be in jail than at home’.

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Despite their row, however, Ripple’s wife accompanied him to court in a show of solidarity with her husband.

Ripple is due to be sentenced at a later date.