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INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
| COSTA RICA
NEWS |
Tuesday 24 May 2011 |
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Only
In
Costa
Rica:
Hold
Up A
Bank,
Get
Caught, Get
Sentenced
And
Be Home
By
Bedtime
It
was
around
11am
when
a
man
with
what
later
was
discovered
to
be a
toy
gun
attempted
a
robbery
at
the
Banco
de
Costa
Rica
(BCR)
central
bank
in
downtown
San
José.
And
due
to
the
fainting
of
the
bank
teller
and
quick
action
by
police
the
man
was
in
custody
and
accepting
the
charges,
he
was
sentenced
and
back
at
home
in
time
for
bed.
"I
want
˘30
million
colones
and
all
you
have
in
dollars,
this
is
not
joke,
read
it
well",
said
the
note
handed
to
teller
19
at
BCR
central
bank
branch,
by a
man
identified
by
his
last
name
Winiker,
Monday
morning.
"If
you
do
something
wrong,
like
calling
the
guard
or
police
or
push
any
emergency
button,
I
will
have
to
kill
you,
the
guard
and
my
two
partners
will
kill
your
family.
When
we
have
the
money
and
am
safe,
I
will
call
my
partners
and
your
family
will
be
safe.
You
have
five
minutes",
the
man
threatened
the
teller
with
a
gun
-
later
found
to
be a
toy
-
under
his
jacket.
The
bank
teller,
unbeknownst
to
the
robber
-
activated
the
bank's
secret
alarm
and
began
to
make
his
way
to
the
bank's
vault.
It
was
then
that
he
fainted
and
the
robber
fled.
Quick
action
and
co-ordination
by
the
Policia
Municipal
(Municipal
Police)
and
the
Organismo
de
Investigación
Judicial
(OIJ)
led
to
the
man's
capture.
By
8pm,
Winiker
was
before
judge
David
Hernández
of
the
Tribunal
Penal
de
Flagrancia,
in
Goicoechea,
where
he
accepted
all
charges
against
him
filed
by
the
Ministerio
Publico.
The
judge
sentenced
Winiker
to
three
years
prison
for
aggravated
robbery.
However,
the
sentenced
was
commuted
to
five
years
probation,
allowing
Winiker
to
be
free
and
be
home
by
time
for
bed.
"I
thought
I
was
going
to
prison.
The
judge
saw
that
I
was
not
a
confrontational
person.
My
record
was
clean.
When
they
told
me
was
free,
my
wife
and
my
daughter
came
to
my
mind,"
Winiker
said
by
telephone
to a
La
Nacion
reporter.
Winiker
is a
driver
for
an
language
institute
and
a
first
time
offender.
"It
was
crazy,
I
learned
my
lesson.
At
the
time
I
did
not
think
of
the
consequences.
I am
grateful
to
the
judge
that
gave
me
the
opportunity
(to
go
free).
For
anyone
who
is
thinking
of
commitment
such
a
nonsense,
I
say
think
it
twice",
he
added.
Winiker
told
the
Court
that
he
suffers
from
"suicidal
depression"
for
which
he
is
takes
medication. |
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