Accused bank robber says he gave money to the poor
An Australian man who is acting as his own attorney at his bank robbery trial in Wyoming says he gave the money to the homeless.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — An Australian man on trial on a charge of robbing a U.S. bank on New Year's Eve told jurors in an emotional opening statement that he was justified because he gave much of the money to the homeless.
Corey Donaldson, 39, is acting as his own attorney in federal court.
"I must say, I feel like a frightened child," he said Tuesday.
Donaldson is accused of robbing a Wyoming bank of $140,000 by claiming explosives were planted around the building.
Donaldson said he was the second of 11 children and grew up in the country outside Melbourne, only to see his father lose his home to bank foreclosure. He said he's now a legal resident in the United States.
Donaldson said he became homeless late last year, coming face-to-face with people who were on the streets because of bank foreclosures.
"I came up with the idea that since the banks had been bailed out, and the people had not, I was going to confiscate money from US Bank in Jackson and redistribute it to the poor and homeless in America," Donaldson said. "And that's what I did.
More at link: http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/accused-bank-robber-says-he-gave-money-to-the-poor
A real life Robin Hood.
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