Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe NEW ALBANY, Ind., Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A Kentucky parolee told a judge he robbed an Indiana bank because he had been influenced by a serial robber he had seen on the news. John Stephens pleaded guilty to holing up a Floyd County, Ind., bank earlier this year, spurring a huge manhunt in the county, WKLY-TV, Louisville, Ky., reported Wednesday. Advertisement "If had been watching the news and seeing all the bank robberies on WLKY. I believe that's what led me, I mean, it persuaded me," said Stephens, who has been out of prison for around two years on an attempted murder conviction, said. During the robbery, Stephens went behind a counter, threatened to shoot employees and pushed one to the floor with his foot. A few months earlier, the TV station showed coverage about Paul Willis, a bank robber who jumped bank counters during his robberies. Stephens said before then, he never considered a holdup. "I just saw that when you all showed the going across the counter, that would be the easiest way to rob a bank," Stephens said. The judge handed Stephens a 188-month sentence for robbery and added 84 months for using a gun. Advertisement If Stephens is still alive when his sentence is complete, he'll be returned to Kentucky to serve the remaining 17 years on the attempted murder case, the report said The judge said if Stephens had a tendency to emulate what he saw on TV, he should have instead watched the History Channel.
