He’s 74 and said his wife’s death led to his bank robbery. He got a lenient sentence.
Sandy Hawkins could’ve spent the next 15 years behind bars. The prosecution had video evidence of the 74-year-old’s bank robbery, his confession and at least one witness.
Instead, the state agreed to drop the charge Friday provided Hawkins spends the next year at The Lord’s Place — a social agency that serves the homeless — and does not commit any additional crimes, court records show.
Hawkins, who was charged with second-degree robbery, had a spotless record save for a few traffic tickets. That all changed in November when he strolled into a Wells Fargo in Boca Raton.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Hawkins approached a teller, grabbed at his waistband and demanded $1,100 in cash. The bank employee counted out $2,000 but the first-time criminal, who later said he wasn’t even armed, wouldn’t take it.
“Hawkins told him it was too much and again demanded $1,100,” the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy wrote.
The teller complied and Hawkins left the bank. Deputies found him the next day.
In December, he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that his brief stint as a criminal was a “cry for help.” This would make sense considering that at the time of his arrest, he gave detectives a handwritten note admitting to the robbery. Also etched onto the note were the words “Hope to get caught,” the affidavit says.
A slew of deaths fueled Hawkins’ desire to go to jail. He had recently lost his wife, mother and two siblings, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Compounding these issues were his depression, living in a car because his rental home had too many painful memories and then the repossession of that car, according to the Sun Sentinel.
“It was pretty clear from the beginning that there was some desperation behind all this,” chief public defender Carey Haughwout told the Palm Beach newspaper on Friday.
In addition to remaining at the homeless shelter and not violating the law, the conditions of Hawkins’ deferred prosecution agreement include repaying the bank and completing 120 hours of community service, according to the document.
This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 6:38 PM.
