US man uses wheelchair, claims to have bomb to rob bank; Hollywood-style attempt went awry [details]

There are several Hollywood movies that depict what a perfect bank robbery looks like. Baby Driver, The Town, and Inside Man, to name a few. However, a 56-year-old US man's botched attempt at robbing a bank is a lesson on how not to pull off a heist. Emmanuel Luna was sentenced to 46 months in prison on Thursday for attempting to rob a bank while he pretended to be handicapped and in possession of a bomb.

A former resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Luna was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following the end of his imprisonment. A fingerprint on the wheelchair used for the failed robbery in August 2019 led to the quinquagenarian's apprehension. At his sentencing, Luna admitted that he committed a "really stupid crime."

Wheelchair and A 'Bomb'

According to court documents, Luna entered a Pittsburgh branch of the First National Bank on 13 August 2019 at approximately 3:19 p.m in a black wheelchair. He wore a black hat, a dark hooded sweatshirt, tan undershirt, dark pants, and glasses. In a 'cinematic' fashion, he presented a note to the teller that read: "I have a bomb if you don't want to die you will give and it is in my backpack I will press the button and kill us all for no less than $50,000 dollars please try me."

However, the teller activated the alarm and called her manager using her phone. When he saw the teller in tears, and before receiving any money from her, he wheeled himself to the front door and got out of the bank. Nevertheless, Luna was captured on camera where he was seen leaving the bank, abandoning the wheelchair, walking to the nearby bus stop, and waiting to board a bus. He was also captured on the bus.

Arrested and Sentenced

Officials from the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) responded to the incident. Luna's wheelchair was found at a distance from the bank, from which a fingerprint was recovered. It was matched to him and he was arrested and taken into custody.

Along with admitting to the silliness of his crime, Luna conceded through his lawyer that it was "inconceivable" that he would have been able to get away with the crime. The court said that his sentence was pronounced after taking several factors into consideration. It explained that Luna's offense was "very serious" and threatening a bank by claiming to have a bomb was a "terrible situation" to subject people who could not have known for certain whether he had an explosive or not.

Adding further, the court emphasized that such a sentence was necessary to attract respect for the law and deterring others that it is "not worth it to rob a bank." The court also acknowledged that Luna was given a jail term on the lower end of the imprisonment guideline as his criminal history began only in his 50s. Luna's duration of supervised release, according to the court, was to protect the community from him and ensure that he can transform into a productive member of the community.