WAYNESBURG, Pa. — A woman who appeared to not have any teeth in surveillance photos from a western Pennsylvania 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, of Carmichaels, on Wednesday remained in the Greene County Jail unable to post bond on bank robbery and other charges filed Tuesday by police in Waynesburg, where she allegedly robbed the First National Bank on Jan. 20.
Arresting Officer Tom Ankrom said Fuller 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 came to police and told them he had loaned Fuller the coat the suspect 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’s wearing in the picture.
At her arraignment Tuesday, Fuller told a district judge she has mental health problems and lives on disability benefits, the Observer-Reporter of Washington, Pa. said Wednesday.
After her arraignment, Fuller 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.
Information from: Observer-Reporter, http://www.observer-reporter.com
If being a toothless woman is motivation for robbing a bank, then I know a bunch of Maine towns that can expect a sharp rise in their crime rates…..
The woman steals for dentures. She couldnt wait a year to get them. I know it must be hard not having any teeth. Did state welfare programs pay to have her teeth removed? If so did they not think it made sense to provide this woman with dentures after removing her teeth.
I would hate to think I had to be dependent on government for something like a pair of dentures. Desperate people do desperate things.
This will turn into a political debate I am sure.
I suppose it could have an impact on job interviews for some people. I’ve also read that people with missing teeth (even a few) don’t eat right. I tend to agree with that because I found things like hot dogs easier to chew than real meat when I was missing a few molars. Then I got 2 expensive fixed bridges. One lasted less than 2 years. The other one about 6 years before the pain started. Dentists wanted to extract one anchor tooth, fix the other anchor tooth and grind down 2 more for a longer replacement bridge. I wish I had gone to a practical and honest dentist in the first place. That way I would have gotten partial dentures instead of bridges. It would have saved me a lot of money and pain. I went through a root canal and the grinding down of some healthy teeth to get those bridges. In return I got to enjoy a few steak dinners before a bridge came loose. They re-cemented it twice before they made me a new one (which held up for about a year).
However, I don’t think it makes her any less culpable of bank robbery. If she tried to rob the welfare office or maybe steal something from another state agency it would make a tiny bit more sense.
FYI the lab that creates those dental bridges normally has some sort of guarantee with them. I had one go bad after almost 4 years and it was covered, I got a replacement bridge free…except the charge for my dentist to put it into place. Worth looking in to.
The replacement bridge was free along with the dental work. They didn’t blame the lab. Instead they did some additional cutting of the anchor teeth so the new bridge would hold better. Later, other dentists told me that the bridges should have had additional anchor teeth. They said that would have reduced the pressure per tooth when chewing. One of them said he would never have recommended bridges for me. He said 15-30 minutes discussing my dental history would be enough for him to make that decision.
The gov does not pay or provide dentures for anyone, regardless, This is only the first of desperate folks doing desperate things. Middle America is moving into these times at a rapid rate.
Gimme all your money. I have a gum!
Gummy all your money…..
Borrow Barney Franks, he never wears them.