Jailed bank robber: 'I just became desperate'

OREGON CITY, Ore. – A 77-year-old man who was arrested after he tried to rob a bank Friday in Milwaukie, Ore. admitted to KATU News that he robbed two other banks before he was caught.

In an interview at the Clackamas County Jail, Darrel Ufford said a gambling addiction and tax debt were the reasons behind the robberies.

“I was just completely broke. I had like 20 cents to my name,” said Ufford. “I just became desperate.”

Ufford said he got hooked on video lottery games. He sometimes played for five hours at a time.

“The way I think about that damn video stuff is sooner or later I gotta hit something, get lucky once,” Ufford said. “But it never happens.”

Ufford said he robbed three different banks, but didn’t get any money during the first robbery attempt. He was arrested after robbing the third bank.

Investigators said he used a handgun, but Ufford said it was an empty pellet gun. Each time he gave the teller a note demanding cash.

“I just handed it to her and asked her to put the note in the bag with the money and I just felt, I felt ashamed at the time.”

Ufford said he gambled away most of the $2,300 he stole in the second bank robbery. Detectives said they recovered the money from Friday’s robbery.

“I don’t want to die in prison, but that looks like what’s going to happen to me at my age,” said Ufford.