Summary: A former attorney and police officer will spend the rest of his life in prison for committing three bank robberies.
Warren J. Gladders, a 65-year-old Missouri citizen, once served his community as an attorney and a police officer. However, Gladders apparently had a change of heart, and, went on a bank robbery spree in 2013, St. Louis Today reports.
On July 7, 2013, Gladders entered the Reliance Bank in Creve Coeur with a revolver. On August 2, 2013, Gladders robbed the First National Bank in Weldon Spring at gunpoint. Finally, on September 20, 2013, he was apprehended by a trooper after robbing the First Bank in Dutzow. A shootout between Gladders and the trooper ensued. The trooper was injured, but his bulletproof vest saved his life. Gladders was hit in the leg.
All in all, Gladders stole around $55,000 from the banks. In July, he entered a guilty plea for three bank robbery charges and one charge of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in U.S. District Court. That same month, he pleaded guilty to assault of a law enforcement officer, robbery, two charges of armed criminal action and unlawful possession of an illegal weapon in state court.
Earlier this month, Gladders was sentenced to 24 years and 5 months in federal court. On Thursday, a state court judge sentenced him to 45 years in prison. The federal and state sentences will run consecutively for a total sentence of close to 70 years.
According to court documents, as well as a business partner, it is believed that financial problems led Gladders to commit the robberies. Gladders, raised in a privileged environment, is a graduate of John Borroughs School, Colgate University, and Washington University Law School. He was one of the owners of a laundry equipment business during his spree. He has remained silent about his motivation to rob the banks.
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In court on Thursday, Gladders said he took responsibility for his actions. “I apologize to anyone who was hurt by my actions, including the trooper,” he said. After the hearing, the trooper spoke on condition of anonymity. He stated that the shooting is a scary reminder of the dangers of his job. “I remember it every single day. I remember it every time I put on my vest.”
Tim Joyce, Gladders’ lawyer, argued that consecutive sentences were too harsh for his client, when one considered Gladders’ age and health issues. Gladders suffers from a bad heart, Joyce explained. “He’ll be 90 by the time he’s served the federal sentence; that’s already a death sentence,” Joyce argued. In addition, Gladders did not seek delays and pleaded guilty to the charges.
[poll id=”135″]However, Assistant Prosecutor John Quarenghi stated that anything less of running the sentences consecutively would be a break for Gladders.
Circuit Judge Wesley Clay Dalton remarked that a note had been found in Gladders’ car that stated he intended to kill or at least seriously injure any law enforcement officer that got in his way. Judge Dalton said, “But for the grace of God and a vest, this trooper wouldn’t be here today.”
After the hearing concluded, the trooper said he was not concerned with why Gladders went on his robbery spree. “One of the things we’re taught in the academy and that this case illustrates is that you can’t underestimate what anyone is capable of,” he commented.
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Photo credit: kmov.com
