76-Year-Old Granny Robs a Bank, Faces Up to 34 Years in Prison

Marilyn Devine, a 76-year-old grandmother from Baldwin, PA, may not be a menace to society, but she definitely has a problem with thinking rationally. In March of last year, Devine walked up to tellers at a National City Bank branch inside a supermarket in West Mifflin and demanded money. The handgun she was holding wasn’t loaded, but the tellers didn’t know that, and two of them gave her almost $6,000.

Police were on the scene almost immediately, and Devine led them on a wild chase through residential areas, sometimes reaching speeds of up to 45 mph. Authorities finally managed to stop her, and all of the stolen money was recovered.

Devine’s husband, Raymond, told reporters that his wife felt compelled to hold up the bank to get some money to help her son, who was desperately in need of money. "Mrs. Devine was suffering from depression and anxiety herself when this happened," said her attorney, Noah Geary. "Her youngest son called and said he was going to do himself in if he didn’t’ come up with some money. He was in dire financial straits…She felt trapped and helpless, had no access to any moneys."

Raymond Devine told officials that he had no idea his wife had taken out loans of $25,000 to $30,000 in recent years in order to help their son, and he learned about the loans only when Marilyn missed making payments on them. He told reporters that her mental state when she decided to rob the bank was a fragile one. "She just flipped out," Raymond said. "She had to get that to save her son, cause that’s the type of mother she is."

Marilyn admits that she temporarily lost her mind the day she robbed the bank, and she knows now that it was a terrible thing to do and she’s embarrassed by her behavior. Prosecutors offered her a sentence of five to ten years, but she decided to plead guilty and leave it up to a judge to sentence her, hoping for mercy. Geary and her family hope that the judge sentences her to probation rather than jail time. Devine’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 27.

Raymond says that if his wife goes to jail it will be hard for both of them to survive physically. "It’ll be a death sentence for her," Raymond said. "It’ll be a death sentence to me. We stay pretty much to ourselves. Our lives are like two gloves. Like a right hand, a left hand. If you are going to take one away…you take everything."