Crime & Safety

Man, 73, 'Wanted to go to Prison'

A 73-year-old man that robbed a Niles bank told police that he wanted to go back to prison because he felt most comfortable there, the Associated Press reported.

Seventy-three-year-old Walter Unbehaun has six months to live. So, the South Carolina man who uses a cane to walk decided it would be best to serve his final days behind prison, at least according to a story by the Associated Press.

Unbehaun, who had spent most of his life behind bars, said he was hoping he would get caught. Unbehaun told investigators that he had spent the majority of his life in prison and "felt more comfortable in prison than out," according to the AP.

Unbehaun served 10 years for a 1998 bank robbery and committed many other felonies, according to the AP. 

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Unbehaun made a court appearance Monday before U.S. Magistrate Geraldine Soat, according to an FBI statement, and remains in federal custody pending his next court appearance, which has not yet been scheduled. 

If Unbehaun is convicted on the Niles bank robbery charge, he faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

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Unbehaun robbed BMO Harris Bank, 7707 Dempster St., on Feb. 9, police said. He entered the bank, approached a teller and presented a note announcing a robbery. 

The complaint alleges he demanded money and told the teller that he had only six months to live and nothing to lose.  According to the complaint, he opened the jacket he was wearing to reveal a handgun tucked in the waistband of his pants.

He was later arrested the following day at a North Chicago motel by Niles police and FBI agents. 

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