Elizabeth Mohr, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. –
A septuagenarian robber was foiled in a Minneapolis bank heist this week, the FBI said.
Roger Lovell Doughten, though not the oldest bank robbery suspect on record, defies the local standard. He is 78.
“I’m not certain if we’ve ever arrested a robber this old, but he’s definitely one of the oldest,” said FBI spokesman Kyle Loven. “It is unusual, given the age of the perpetrator.”
Doughten, of Louisville, Ky., is accused of robbing the Wells Fargo bank branch on East Franklin Avenue about 6:15 p.m. Monday, June 18. He was arrested at the scene by an off-duty Minneapolis police officer, Loven said.
This isn’t Doughten’s first run-in with law enforcement. Public records show Doughten was convicted of felony robbery in Washington state in 1996 and sentenced to a little more than a year in prison. He does not appear to have a criminal record in Minnesota.
The nation’s oldest known bank robber died at age 92 in 2004, the New York Times reported.
Red Rountree, who said he discovered “his calling” in his 80s, died in federal prison while serving a 12-year sentence for his last robbery the previous year in Abilene, Texas, the Times reported. He also robbed banks in Mississippi and Florida in 1998 and 1999, respectively.
Doughten, Minneapolis’ aging alleged bank robber, is behind bars awaiting possible charges.
Partricia Thraen contributed to this report.
