Bank robber says he was family man before pills
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A man being sentenced on a bank robbery conviction says he was a law-abiding citizen who took care of his family before becoming a pain pill addict.
The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/122khGM ) reported Gordon Harold Williams apologized before a federal judge Tuesday as he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Authorities said the 50-year-old Williams admitted robbing a BB&T Bank office last summer, demanding cash while holding a makeshift explosive device. FBI agents found him the day after the $1,500 robbery.
Williams told them where to find the bomb, which was a baby bottle filled with gunpowder and birdshot and taped to a propane canister.
His lawyer said Williams was prescribed painkillers for a neck injury and got hooked on them, turning to buying pills on the street.
