Husband wanted police to kill him: Pease
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“This is not the man I’ve known for all these years,” said Donna Pease, wife of suspected bank robber Russell Pease, 35. “He’s never been in any trouble. He’s always been a good provider and made his own way by working hard. Money wasn’t what he wanted. This was a suicide attempt. He wanted the police to kill him and this isn’t the first time he’s tried it.”
Pease faces aggravated robbery charges after he was taken into custody at a phone booth in Sparta Wednesday, less than an hour after he robbed Cumberland Bank of over $14,000 cash.
Pease’s wife of 16 years said the couple has been separated for some time, during which she said he has attempted suicide on several occasions, in some cases trying to take drug overdoses.
“He’s been trying suicide for three years and he tried to get a deputy to shoot him a while back, but for some reason, the officer didn’t,” Mrs. Pease said.
“He’s been in Moccassin Bend and he does need mental help,” Mrs. Pease continued. “I hope he gets that while he’s in jail and I hope they put him on suicide watch because he told me he plans to finish the job.”
Mr. Pease, a nursery worker and truck driver and father of three teen-aged children, does not fit the mold of a robber, Mrs. Pease said, noting she is sorry for the crime her husband is accused of committing.
“I’ve seen him drive 50 miles to pay for gas which he forgot to pay for,” Mrs. Pease said. “This isn’t the kind of man who walks in and robs a bank.”
Pease’s 15-year-old daughter, Beth Pease, said the news has stunned just about everyone who knows her father.
“I’ve probably had 20 people call and ask me if that really was my dad,” said Beth. “They say they just can’t believe he would do something like that. For anybody who knows him, that has been the reaction.”
While citing her husband’s suicidal tendencies, Mrs. Pease said she is not trying to excuse what her husband did.
“I want him punished because what he did was wrong,” Mrs. Pease said. “I can only imagine how those ladies must have felt at the bank. I want all of Warren County to know we’re sorry for what happened.”
Mrs. Pease said she blames herself for her husband’s mental state based on something she did three years ago, about the time her husband became suicidal.
“I did him wrong,” Mrs. Pease said. “I’ll be there for him though, all through this.”
If convicted, Pease faces eight to 12 years in prison.