Citing mental illness, elderly man released

TAMPA - Friday, an elderly man accused of robbing banks to pay his mortgage appeared before a judge with his wife.

After some talk about mental illness, tears and a warning from the judge, 73-year-old James Bruce was released from custody.

Vickie Bruce asked the judge to let her husband leave jail and return home with her.

Lawyers say James Bruce has mental health issues. They say he told police he robbed three banks in five weeks because he needed money to pay his mortgage.

But he isn't your typical accused bank robber -- with health problems mounting, Bruce was brought into court Friday, unrestrained, in a wheel chair, waving to his wife Vickie. She came to court hoping to take her husband home.

"What in the world is going on with your husband?" asked Judge Greg Holder. "How did we end up here today under these circumstances?"

"I don't have a good answer for you," Vickie Bruce replied. "The little things I've seen along the way have alarmed me."

Holder surprised everyone, saying he was open to releasing Bruce to his wife's custody.

Prosecutors did not object, and as the judge announced his release without one dollar of bail money, Bruce began to cry.

Judge Holder ordered Bruce to get treatment for his still-undisclosed medical condition, and he told the 73 year old to stay out of banks.