Suspected Serial Bank Robber Says He Does It To Make Ends Meet
COSTA MESA (CBSLA.com) — A suspected serial bank robber said he held up banks because he was trying to make ends meet.
Joseph Erickson, 34, confessed to robbing a Chase bank in Costa Mesa shortly before noon Thursday.
In a bizarre twist, he said he gave the money back then confessed to us on camera while sitting in the back of a police car.
"I hit her with a note, and I walked out with cold cash. But I gave it back because I felt horrible about it. Changed my life spiritually," said the parolee with an extensive criminal record.
After his change of heart, police said Erickson jumped on a bus trying to get away. But police caught up with him a few blocks away.
As the suspect was placed in the back of a police cruiser, witnesses were scratching their heads over the fact that he chose a bus instead of a getaway car.
"It's kind of good that he didn't use a good escape route because if he escaped, that wouldn't be a good thing," one witness said.
Erickson did not put up a fight as officers ordered him to the ground and arrested him. A CBS2/KCAL9 viewer recorded the arrest on a mobile phone.
According to Orange County court records, Erickson has been charged with dozens of crimes. He admitted to robbing six banks in Orange County.