An elderly bank robber had his plans thwarted Tuesday morning, largely in part because he asked his victim to call the police.
At 9 a.m. Tuesday, Kenneth Montoya, 65, entered a First National Bank location at 238 Front Street at 9 a.m., shortly after the bank opened for business. He pointed a toy plastic gun at the teller and asked for the money that was currently on the counter in front of her.
Montoya then told the teller to call police.
The Juneau Police Department received the teller’s 911 call saying she was being robbed at gunpoint at approximately 9:04 a.m. and responded immediately, arresting Montoya inside the bank at 9:06 a.m.
Montoya was transported to Lemon Creek Correctional Center and charged with first-degree robbery, a class ‘A’ felony.
A bank manager at the downtown location would not give her name and would not comment, directing calls to the bank’s Mendenhall Valley branch representative Lloyd Johnson, who was unavailable.
The downtown branch employee did state she was glad no one was injured.
Montoya has a past criminal record that includes Anchorage cases of public excretion in 1994, domestic violence assault in 1997, theft under $50 in 2002, criminal trespass and criminal mischief in 2003. His Juneau rap sheet includes a 1990 conviction for concealment of merchandise, and disorderly conduct and open container violations in 1989.
• Contact reporter Klas Stolpe at 523-2263 or at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
Comments (38)
Add commentDon't think he cares
about what people say about this.....when you get to the point of wanting to be in jail, you are past the point of caring what other people think about you. If I was him I'd EXPECT people to make fun of me - after all, I did something stupid. Usually when you do something stupid other people laugh - it's not new people.
P.S. Real gun, plastic gun, paintball gun, or pointy finger - it's all the same in the eyes of the law. He's going to be charged with armed robbery or attempted and I imagine he'll plead guilty so he's looking at a good long stretch. There's nothing the D.A can do about it either - it would be nice to think that they could see through this plan of his and put him in treatment or something, but that would be subjective and the law is not subjective - boo hoo kitty.
Nobody has any right to talk
Nobody has any right to talk about this subject.
1-He is mentally unstable. Period. This is a fact, not a rumor or assumption.
2-As all of you know, the empire doesn't exactly report the correct information all the time. Having said that, it left out many details that wouldn't make this article funny at all. And anyone who thinks any sort of robbery is funny at all, needs help. But the empire CAN'T give certain information because of the seriousness of this article. If any of you end up on the jury, you'll know details. Otherwise, you should really stop assuming things. Because this article is leaving out three HUGE details of what happened that morning.
Also, none of you seem to know a single thing about what you're saying. For example-the person who robbed a bank then got caught at the imperial was a TOURIST, not someone who needed medical help.
This man wanted to go to jail. Period.
: )
"Nobody has any right to talk about this subject."
Nobody but you, huh, Blah??
Attempted Robbery - for 3 hots and a cot.... BELIEVE IT!
I worked with Alaskan inmates. This was my first experience as a Correctional Officer. I was shocked as to the 'Benefits' and 'Rights' of Alaskan inmates. In my Arizona facility, they had 24 hr air conditioning. They had in cell cable TV as well as the communal 'day room'. They also had video games they would network together in their 'pods' so they could play against each other even if they were on 'lock down' where they were secured in their cells at night or required for a security reason. They have 'religious items' that we as correctional officers can't touch with out their permission with out them present. Our response time to medical emergencies was less than 4 minutes. I could go on for pages. I can tell you that I don't get paid cable tv. Medical emergency response of less than 4 minutes. A secured area to live in. And actually I felt that when I was ready to retire I was going to rob a bank in Alaska cause Social Security would be broke and I would be taken care of in such luxury!
Strange that nobody seems
Strange that nobody seems concerned about the teller. Whatever this guy's motive, the girl who was held up is understandably traumatized by the whole affair. I understand that it was a toy gun, but that doesn't make it feel any less real. Whatever this guy's motives may have been, he's cost someone their sense of security, and that's criminal in my mind.
This isn't just idle speculation. Most tellers during a robbery end up leaving their job because they can't handle spending every day in the spot where they feel like they nearly lost their life.
So I don't really hold much sympathy for this man, as he apparently doesn't hold much for others.