Remorseful bank robber waits for police after heist

SEATTLE — A suspected robber with a guilty conscience walked out of a Washington state bank with stolen cash on Tuesday then waited outside the building for police to arrest him, police said.

The 64-year-old man walked into a Banner Bank branch in Bellingham early on Tuesday and handed a teller a note demanding cash, the Bellingham Police Department said in a statement.

The teller complied, and the man, identified as Richard Gorton, took the money and left, police said. But instead of fleeing the scene, he lingered near the bank building where he was discovered by officers.

“He admitted to officers that he had committed this crime and indicated that he became remorseful right after he walked out of the bank,” police said, adding that Gorton told officers he had decided to wait for police instead of making a run with the cash.

The remorseful robber faces charges of first degree robbery and was being held in the Whatcom County Jail awaiting arraignment, police said. The amount of money stolen was not disclosed by police.