Some people in this world seem as though they do virtually nothing wrong and end up nagged, fined, and jailed by the courts no matter what they do. Others, like would-be bank robber Edward Dempsey, 54, of Jersey City, can seemingly attempt to rob a bank and not end up behind bars, as NJ (dot com) has revealed today.
Prosecutors have not collated enough evidence to prove that a robbery charge is warranted in this case. The blundering Hoboken man is said to have tried to rob the Investors Bank on River Street after the money was already locked away for the day at 6:45 p.m. The wording of the letter was what NJ called simply, "too nice" to jail him in this strange criminal case.
When the befuddled burglar understood what he had done, he asked for his robbery note back (which had said something similar to "This is what I need. Give me the money") and headed for the doors. (the actual wording
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Perhaps by accident, perhaps by sheer bank robbing brilliance, Dempsey worded this demand in a way that was technically not a robbery. According to the law, the "threat of or the use of force is an element of the crime of robbery."
Wow. Well played, Mr. Dempsey.
Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale had to admit that "the evidence presented to him seemed insufficient to support the charge of robbery." For lack of better words, the note was simply too nice to make a conclusion.
The man did look at the register drawers to find that they were empty, and this would seem to imply that he was looking for loot to steal, but assumptions are as common as wind. There is no proof that he was doing anything but making sure that the bank really had put the cash away and could not meet what COULD HAVE BEEN a simple request for money.
So, Dempsey was "released with conditions of supervision, given the fact that he could face the charge of attempted theft, a lesser offense," stated