Bank robber’s cry for help was heard. The 74-year-old widower won’t go to prison
By Eileen Kelley
South Florida Sun Sentinel
February 14, 2020
Sandy Hawkins walked toward the front of the courtroom Friday, pausing to steady himself at a desk. Flanked by attorneys, the 74-year-old bank robber, still mourning his dead wife, removed his glasses and ran a hand over his wet face, after hearing that he would not be sent to prison.
Bank robbers can be sentenced up to 15 years behind bars, which to Hawkins, who has cancer, would effectively be a life sentence. But Hawkins was spared that, as well as court costs and fees, in an agreement between the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office.
Hawkins can essentially have his case dropped if he abides by rules for the next 12 months at a transitional housing facility.
Typically people who commit second-degree felonies, like bank robbery, are not eligible for the type of agreement Hawkins got. But Hawkins is far from a typical criminal. In fact, until this he had a spotless record.
It was clear that desperation was behind Hawkins’ crime, said his public defender Carey Haughwout.
On Nov. 18, Hawkins walked into a Wells Fargo in West Boca and demanded cash. For reasons that he is unsure of, he specifically asked for $1,100. When the teller counted past $2,000, he scolded him, telling the teller that was too much and to start counting the cash over.
Hawkins left the bank with a bag of cash. While cutting through some hedges at the strip mall, the bag became ensnared in a bush. Hawkins kept walking, leaving his loot behind.
He was sitting outside a West Boca home the next day when police rolled up. They asked if he would come down to the station to talk. He said yes.
There, Hawkins said he wanted to make it easy on them so he pulled out of his pocket the holdup note, a note he forgot to give the teller: "Give me $1,100. Now. No Alarms. Hope to get caught.”
Hawkins spent seven days in jail in Palm Beach County before being released to house arrest at a facility in Delray Beach.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel sat down with Hawkins in December. He tearfully explained that he had no clear explanation for his crime other than it was a cry for help.
Hawkins’ life turned upside down when his wife died in the fall of 2017. He walked out of his rental home last year because the memories were still too much. He left his decent-paying job as an air conditioning repairman and spent the summer sleeping in his car at a Walmart. Then his car got repossessed.
To this day, Hawkins still cries himself to sleep over losing the love of his life. Linda Hawkins died unexpectedly of blood cancer, just two days after her diagnosis.
Sandy Hawkins has since been diagnosed with cancer. He said he is not treating it and he’s ready to die.
He said marrying Linda was the best decision he ever made and robbing the bank was his worst. He no longer wants to talk about that day.
“It bothers me too much,” he said Friday. “It was my way of — basically — a cry for help."
Assistant State Attorney Samuel Meshulam told the judge, Jeffrey Gillen, he took all the factors into consideration when working out the deal.
"Given his age, where he is in life, that he has no criminal history whatsoever and given all significant factors, we feel that the pretrial intervention agreement is the best way forward,” Meshulam said.
Hawkins said he intends to follow all rules at the Lord’s Place, a transitional housing program, for the next 12 months while his case remains open.
Anthony Hoskins, a specialist at the Lord’s Place, told the judge that Hawkins will always be welcome there.
“He can stay five, six, seven years,” Hoskins said.
Gillen said it was with happiness that he was signing off on the deal.
Hawkins was elated as well. “I feel great about today," he said.
Hawkins has been at the Lord’s Place for over a month now. Hoskins said Hawkins is inspiring and helps the younger men at the Lord’s Place succeed.
“And that’s what’s important, for him to be an inspiration no matter what his circumstances is," Hoskins said.
Hawkins said had it not been for his attorney, and the Lord’s Place, he’d “be in big trouble.”
Hawkins’s attorney smiled as she sent her client off Friday morning. "All right Sandy, off you go.”
And off he went, a free, but still hurting, man.
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