Police: Man tries to rob bank of $1 in prison bid

[October 10, 2012]  NORTHERN CAMBRIA, Pa. (AP) -- Police say a man tried to rob a Pennsylvania bank of $1 because he hoped to be sent to a federal prison nearby.

A police complaint says 50-year-old regular customer Jeffrey McMullen walked into an AmeriServ bank Friday in Northern Cambria and handed notes to tellers demanding a dollar.

The complaint was reported by The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown (http://bit.ly/Qcdx17).

The complaint says tellers thought it was a joke. He then spoke with a new accounts employee and repeated he was robbing the bank for a buck.

Police say McMullen apparently wanted to be prosecuted federally so he could be taken to a prison in central Pennsylvania. Police could not immediately say why.

McMullen awaits a preliminary hearing. It isn't clear whether he has an attorney.

[Associated Press]

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