Ex-con tells judge he robbed bank to get sent back to prison

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) - An ex-convict has told an Indiana judge that he robbed a bank hoping he would be sent back to prison.

The Post-Tribune reports (http://trib.in/1DdWaUp ) that 53-year-old David Potchen wanted to plead guilty in Lake County court on Wednesday but only if he received the maximum 8-year prison sentence. Potchen is accused of robbing a Merrillville bank in June.

Potchen told Judge Clarence Murray that he'd been laid off from his job in Gary. That's when he decided to rob the bank and afterward "sat on the curb and waited" for police come.

The judge told Potchen he hopes someone "reads about this and offers some help to you." A status hearing was set for March 18.

Potchen had served a 30-year sentence for confinement in connection with a 2001 Hammond bank robbery.

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Information from: Post-Tribune, http://posttrib.chicagotribune.com/