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Soldier sentenced for bank heist announced on Facebook

A Welsh soldier home from Afghanistan and suffering from PTSD attempted to rob a bank after announcing his plan on Facebook. 

 

Jordan Valinsky

IRL

Posted on Dec 14, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 5:28 am CDT

In what police in Wales are blaming on post traumatic stress disorder from war, a soldier returning home for leave from Afghanistan committed an armed robbery and wrote about it on Facebook

Stephen Evans, 20, is accused of drunkenly creating a plan to rob a bank in Southsea, Wrexham to prevent him returning to war as he was left traumatized by his violent experiences. So he took to Facebook to publically announced he was armed and robbing a bank for attention.

Daily Post reports that in October he walked into a bank holding an air rifle, pointed it at employees and threatened to kill them if they didn’t open the registers. Ultimately, Evans’ robbery attempt was unsuccessful as he fled the bank empty-handed.

On Friday, Mold Crown Court officials said a witness recognized Evans’ photograph being circulated, which was the same picture he used on his Facebook profile, and identified him. The court also heard that Evans announced his plans on Facebook to receive mental help.

Mark Connor, Evans’ barrister, said the case should be treated carefully since Evans’ action was a cry for help. Connor recommended the court convict Evans with a sentence of up to two years.

Evans won’t be returning to Afghanistan. Instead, he’s been sentenced to three and a half years in youth custody. The judge factored in his age, his guilty plea, and his traumatic war zone experiences in determining the sentence, but said the robbery was too serious to let him go.

Photo via bradleycoulman/Hashgram

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*First Published: Dec 14, 2012, 2:02 pm CST