"First time I've ever been in trouble with the law. I'm sort of a logical person and that was my logic. That's what I came up with," said James Verone.
Verone said he came to the decision to rob a bank in North Carolina.
He had no gun but handed the teller a rather unusual note.
The note said this is a bank robbery. Please only give me $1.
Then he did the strangest thing of all.
"I started to walk away from the teller then I went back and said, 'I'll be sitting right over here on the chair waiting for the police," adds Verone.
And that is what he did. There are 9-1-1 tapes where you can hear the teller saying that the suspect was sitting on the sofa right inside the door.
So, why did he did he do everything he could to get arrested?
"Cause I wanted to make it known that this wasn't for monetary value but it was done for medical reasons," adds Verone.
Verone says he has no medical insurance.
He has a growth of some sort on his chest, two ruptured disks and a problem with his left foot.
He is 59-years old and with no job and a depleted bank account, he thought jail was the best place he could go for medical care and a roof over his head.
James is hoping for a three year sentence. He figures he then would be able to collect social security when he got out and says he'd head for the beach!
He knows his story is unusual and he doesn't recommend doing what he did to anyone else, but Verone says he has no regrets.
He says he is getting good medical care now, but the jail doctor accused him of manipulating the system.
"If it is called manipulation, then out of necessity because I need medical care then I guess I am manipulating the courts to get medical care," he adds.
Verone is currently being held on a $5,000.
Investigators say he wasn't charged with a more serious crime, because the chain of events did not meet the criteria for robbery charges.
