91-Year-Old Man Pleads Guilty in Bank Robbery

A 91-year-old man who walks with a cane and is hard of hearing pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $2,000 from a bank, his third such robbery since 1998.

Leaning on a cane and wearing a headset to hear the judge, J. L. Hunter “Red” Rountree initially responded “not guilty” when asked for his plea. “I mean, guilty,” he later said. “I’m sorry.” Rountree was accused of robbing a bank in Abilene in August.

Officials say Rountree’s spree began in 1998, when he robbed a bank in Biloxi, Miss. He received probation and was told to leave the state. Less than a year later, he was convicted of robbing a Pensacola, Fla., bank and sentenced to three years in prison.

Rountree faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.