A 74-year-old woman accused of robbing a bank with an unloaded pistol was trying to raise money to help a son with financial problems, her husband and her attorney said Tuesday.
Marilyn Devine of Baldwin remained in the Allegheny County Jail unable to post $100,000 bond on armed robbery and other charges.
“Basically, she just flipped out,” Raymond Devine, a retired warehouse worker, said Tuesday. “She was under a lot of pressure, I guess, and whatever happened, she just snapped.”
Her husband said he has paid off $25,000 to $30,000 worth of loans that his wife took out to help their son. He said he learned about those loans only when his wife failed to make payments on them.
Baldwin told reporters she stole more than $5,000 in the Monday morning heist “to help people who are starving to death and nobody cares about them.”
Police said Devine robbed two tellers at a bank branch inside a supermarket Monday, brandishing a 9mm handgun.
A former bank employee chased the woman’s car until police took over and arrested her after a short, low-speed chase that ended when an alert tow truck driver blocked her path. Police said they recovered all the money, which totaled more than $5,000.
“We need to get her some (counseling) attention and get it worked out,” said her attorney, Noah Geary. “It’s a sad situation, really.”