TUCSON–An 81-year-old man who robbed a credit union here said he did so because he wanted to go back to prison.
Robert Francis Krebs, who has spent most of his adult life in prison, said he robbed a branch of Pyramid FCU because his monthly $800 Social Security payment wasn't enough to live on, according to court records. Krebs committed the robbery approximately six months after being released from prison.
He was released from prison in the summer of 2017, about six months before the robbery at Pyramid Federal Credit Union branch in a strip mall on Tucson's northern edge.
Krebs told FBI agents he didn't wear a disguise to the January 2018 robbery because he "kind of wanted to get caught" and return to prison. The courts are now considering whether Krebs is mentally fit to stand trial, with his attorneys saying he has shown symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. A neuropsychologist concluded Krebs wasn't competent to stand trial because he has dementia, but two other mental health experts said they believe he has "embellished or grossly exaggerated" his condition to avoid prosecution.
Why CU Was Selected
A judge will now have to make a call on Krebs’ competence. Even if found incompetent for trial, it does not mean the charges will be dropped. And although Krebs’ attorneys have alleged a cognitive impairment, prosecutors said Krebs had stated the credit union was an easy target because there was no glass separating members and tellers, and that he picked a lending institution located near a mall, where it would be harder for police to find him.
According to the FBI, Krebs served more than 30 years in prison for a 1981 bank robbery in Florida and was sentenced to three years in prison for a 1966 conviction in Chicago for embezzling $72,000 from a bank where he worked as a teller. He also did another 17 years in Arizona for theft and armed robbery convictions from Arizona dating back to 1980.
Krebs has entered a not guilty plea for the credit union robbery.
Although Krebs claimed to have a cognitive impairment, prosecutors said he concluded the credit union was an easy target because there was no glass separating customers and tellers, and that he picked a lending institution located near a mall, where it would be harder for police to find him.