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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sirens & Gavels

Toothless robber: I needed dentures

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (AP) — A woman who appeared to not have any teeth in surveillance photos from a bank robbery last month has confessed, apologized and told police she planned the heist because she needed the money for dentures.

Evelyn Marie Fuller, 49, remained in a jail Wednesday unable to post bond on bank robbery and other charges filed a day earlier by police in Waynesburg, in western Pennsylvania, where she's accused of robbing the First National Bank on Jan. 20.

Arresting Officer Tom Ankrom said Fuller, of Carmichaels, about 10 miles east, explained her motives when she confessed to the crime.

"During her confession, she stated she wanted to use the money to pay for dentures she was unable to get through welfare until next year," Ankrom said.

Police distributed a surveillance photo of the robber, who appeared to be toothless, and an unnamed witness went to police and told them he had loaned Fuller the coat the robber was seen wearing in the picture. The man told police Fuller returned the coat because the zipper didn't work, and police said it matched one the robber is wearing in the picture.

Fuller, at her arraignment Tuesday, told a district judge she has mental health problems and lives on disability benefits, the Observer-Reporter newspaper, of Washington, said Wednesday.

After her arraignment, she told a reporter, "I'm very sorry for what I did, and I know God is going to punish me for it," before explaining that her pastor told her to tell the truth about what she did.



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