A Trumbull, Connecticut, resident turned himself in and was charged with third-degree larceny Friday after he found $5,000 outside a town bank in May, according to a local report.
Robert Withington found and kept a bank deposit bag containing thousands of dollars in cash at around 9:30 a.m. May 30, the CT Post reported Tuesday. An employee from the tax collector’s office was unable to make a delivery to the bank branch that day because he could not find the deposit bag containing the funds.
Trumbull man charged after finding $5K outside bank says he ‘just took the cash and called it a day’ https://t.co/lF6zagYely
— The Trumbull Times (@TrumbullTimes) August 28, 2023
The tax collector’s employee alerted police about the missing deposit bag, Lt. Brian Weir told the outlet. (RELATED: California Sheriff’s Video Shows Burglars Using Forklift To Try To Steal ATM, Failing Miserably)
Withington has insisted he did not steal anything. He admitted to police that he didn’t feel as though he had to return the deposit bag, which was reportedly marked with the bank’s emblem and contained several identifying documents that named the town and the funds’ rightful owner.
“I have never had a criminal record in my whole life,” Withington said, according to the CT Post. “This is like a crock of baloney. I found money and now it’s probably going to cost me money.”
“It’s not like it was planned out,” he added. “Everything was in the moment and it was like I hit the lottery. That was it.”
The investigation lasted for several months, with Trumbull Police Department detectives conducting interviews and reviewing surveillance footage. They ultimately learned the bag of funds had been dropped outside the bank. There, Withington stumbled upon the bag and picked it up, according to the outlet.
“Anybody who knows me knows all I’m about is generosity,” Withington said. “After living in this town for 20 years, I’m not looking for trouble.”
“Larceny by definition is a crime that involves the unlawful taking of property from someone else without a threat of violence,” University of New Haven associate professor James Mohs told the outlet, adding that “[i]ntent is the key — [prosecutors are] going to have to prove he willingly took [the funds].”