WHAT A HEEL: Felony Farmer
Michael Fenter, known around Port Townsend (WA) as a “gentleman farmer,” has another less genteel pastime: robbing banks. After pleading guilty U.S. District Court in Tacoma to three counts of bank robbery, one count of armed bank robbery and possession of a weapon during a crime of violence, he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $86,000 in restitution.
The Seattle Times details his crime spree:
They say that in three of the robberies Fenter entered a bank and told employees that he had a bomb, in a briefcase, powerful enough to kill everyone. He claimed he could detonate it with his cellphone.
He did the same thing at a Washington Mutual bank branch in Seattle on Feb. 4, 2009; at a Bank of America branch in San Francisco on April 15, 2009; and a Wells Fargo Bank in Sacramento in AugustDuring those robberies, Fenter identified himself as "Patrick Henry" and claimed he represented an organization that was angry about how the government was spending federal bailout money, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. He said he planned to give the money to people who needed it.
He was arrested Oct. 8 outside a Bank of America branch in Tacoma after he claimed to have a bomb in a box. Fenter fled with $73,000, but police were waiting outside, tipped off by a 911 call.
His wife and three children were unaware of his life of crime.
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