Detroit man says he robbed bank to pay for daughter's chemotherapy

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When police caught up to a man accused of robbing a bank, he told them that he was desperate and that he needed the money in order to be able to pay for chemotherapy for his daughter.

According to WXYZ-TV, 23-year-old Brian Randolph robbed the Vibe Credit Union in South Lyon, Michigan, when he passed the teller a note saying that he wanted $20,000 and that he had a gun concealed in his pants.

Two days later, police tracked him down, thanks to his poor disguise and authorities’ appeal on Facebook for more information. He had gotten away with over $8,000 in cash out of the $20,000 he asked for.

Despite discovering a Gucci bag and several new pairs of shoes on the man when they found him, Randolph insisted that the money was needed for chemotherapy for his 1-year-old daughter, who has retinoblastoma, a cancer that forms in the eye.

“I guess it was desperation. Time was ticking right before her appointment came up,” Asia Dupree, Randolph’s girlfriend and mother of their daughter Brialynn, told WXYZ-TV.

Lt. Chris Sovik of the South Lyon Police Department said he was sympathetic but that the desperation did not excuse Randolph’s actions.

“You want to do everything you can to protect your daughter,” he said. “But there are lots of fathers whose daughters have cancer as well, and you don’t see them out there robbing banks all the time.”