Few people will ever get the chance to chat in-depth with a former bank robber. The last thing a bank robber wants is to air their dirty laundry, especially if they're hiding their crimes from the police and trying to avoid getting caught!
Luckily, one former bank robber is helping us learn everything we've ever wanted to know about what it's like to live a life of crime. On Reddit's Ask Me Anything page, former crime master Clay Tumey gave users a chance to ask everything they've ever wanted to ask a bank robber and answered with 100% honest responses.
Having already served his time in jail, Clay had nothing to lose by divulging his secrets, and he wanted to show people that "it's never too late to get your [act] together and put your head on straight." Clay even wrote a book about his experience as a bank robber, so it's safe to say that this former criminal has nothing to hide.
If you've ever wanted to know what it's like to rob a bank or the secrets to not getting caught, check out Clay's responses below!
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Left Thumbnail Photo: Flickr / Lawrence Braun
1. He Planned Robberies Around Cops' Schedules
Every bank robber has their own methods and strategies, but Clay's strategy for never getting caught was to only rob banks when he knew the cops were changing shifts.
"I generally chose a time of day [to rob banks] when I thought the cops were on shift change, which was usually around 3 p.m.," Clay wrote on Reddit. "Some cities actually publish that for whatever weird reason."
2. He Didn't Carry A Gun
Though bank robber stereotypes would have you think otherwise, Clay actually never brought a gun to any of his robberies.
"I strapped a hammer to my leg under my pants, just below my knee, in case I needed to break out of a locked door or something," said Clay, "but I never used a gun or anything like that."
3. He Liked To Grab A Bite To Eat After A Robbery
After he made a safe getaway in his truck parked "out of view from the bank," Clay liked to celebrate with a nice meal.
"I usually went to Chili's or somewhere to eat and chill out," the former bank robber said.
4. He Only Asked For $50s And $100s
To make his robberies as speedy and under-the-radar as possible, Clay would only ask bank tellers for $50s and $100s.
"Back then, all of the marked bills, dye packs, and tracking stuff was in $20s, so I definitely didn't want those," said Clay, "and $1s, $5s, and $10s were such a small denomination that they wouldn't add up to much anyway. It wasn't worth the extra time for [the tellers] to get everything out of their drawer. Getting out a bunch of $50s and $100s… seemed to be the quickest way and drew no attention from other tellers."
5. He Looked At Robbing Banks As "A Worthy Challenge"
For Clay, robbing banks wasn't about the money, but the thrill and the notoriety.
"Bank robbery is the real American Dream," Clay wrote. "We make movies about it, and as long as innocent people aren't hurt or killed, our society loves bank robbers.
"Also, it seemed like a worthy challenge. I thought it would be quite an accomplishment if I could solve the puzzle and figure out how to get away with it."
In fact, according to Clay, most career bank robbers similarly continue to rob for the same reason.
"I think most first-timers do it out of desperation for their own personal financial problems, but career bank robbers, in my opinion, do it for the rush or the thrill rather than financial reasons," wrote Clay.
6. He Was Never Caught, But He Turned Himself In
Though he was never captured by the cops, Clay decided to turn himself in after leaving his bank robbing career behind, for the sake of his son.
"I always figured prison was in the cards for me — even before I was doing crime — so it made sense to turn myself in and get it over with," said Clay. "But most of all, I became a father and wanted to just do my time while my son was a baby instead of the cops accidentally figuring out who I was and taking me to jail when my son was older."
7. He Only Averaged About $5,000 Per Bank
To stay under the radar, Clay would only take the money that the bank tellers had on hand, which usually left him with about $5,000 per job.
"I probably averaged around $5,000 per bank," said Clay, "but it was pretty low-risk that way, so that was cool with me."
8. He Paid Back All The Money He Stole
As Clay never robbed any banks with a monetary motive, it's no surprise that he paid back all the money he stole.
Before he paid it back, Clay said that he "used the majority of [the money] for charitable stuff like helping people in need or donating to worthy causes."
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