J.L. Hunter "Red" Rountree of Goldthwaite, Texas, the 91- year-old serial bank robber, couldn't stand freedom, so he walked into a branch of the First American Bank in Abilene, demanded money, and gave the teller a large envelope with "ROBBERY" written on it. He walked out with $2,000, but a witness got his license plate number, and he was pulled over a half hour later in the town of Lawn, about 16 miles south of Abilene. Red keeps setting records. He was believed to be the nation's oldest bank robber back in 1998 when, one week before his 87th birthday, he was arrested in Biloxi, Mississippi, a few minutes after he robbed a bank. He got three years probation and a $260 fine for that job. Then in 1999 he was arrested for robbing the NationsBank in Pensacola, Florida, and sentenced to three years in prison, becoming the oldest inmate in Florida. He had been free for about a year. One explanation for his robbing frequency could be that he got a late start in life. A successful Houston businessman who was devastated after his wife's death in 1986, he started spending all his time in bars. After a short unhappy second marriage, he decided on bank robbery as a second career, starting with the bank that he blamed for forcing him into bankruptcy. Hey, retired people need a hobby.
October 26, 2003 5:20 AM