Man Opts for Jail Instead of Marriage

Bank robber waited for cops to show

By DANIELLE JOHNSON

Updated 10:20 AM EST, Thu, Sep 3, 2009

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It’s not an excuse most men use to get out of their marriage, but a Lancaster, Pa., man held up a bank to finally be free from his (not so) better half.

Anthony Miller, 39, told a Lancaster County judge his wife abused him so badly that in 2007 he held up an Ephrata Bank with a BB gun so he could go to jail to get away from her, according to Lancaster Online.

"She was very abusive to me," Miller told Judge Louis Farina. "I was scared. She threatened to commit suicide if I ever left her," according to the paper.

Miller was so anxious to get caught that he even stayed an extra four minutes inside the bank after he forced the teller to hand over the money.

“Did you call the police yet?” Miller asked the teller, according to the paper.

The teller eventually alerted police by setting off the bank alarm. Police caught Miller as he was leaving.

Miller’s defense attorney, Robert Beyer, said that when Miller’s wife came to pick up his car after he was in custody, she met with the arresting officer. After 20 minutes with her, the defense attorney said the officer confessed,” I was ready for jail, too,” according to the paper.

The judge said Miller -- who claimed he had a nervous breakdown that day -- committed a serious crime, even though the BB gun was unloaded and he never threatened to hurt anyone.

Judge Marina sentenced Miller to three to six years in prison. Miller’s defense attorney wanted Miller -- who already served 31 months in prison -- to get a sentence of time served.

Turning to Miller, the judge said, "We have to make sure you don't do that again,” according to the paper.

Some good news, at least for Miller, the couple divorced within the last year.