Police: Families turn suspected bank robbers in
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The parents of two suspected bank robbers are being credited with turning their sons in, police in Florida said.
Andrew Wright, 18, and Michael Jeczalik, 24, are in federal custody awaiting charges connected to the July 9 robbery of a Bank of America, said Stephanie Slater, spokeswoman for the Boynton Beach Police Department.
Authorities said it didn't take long for the families to identify the alleged perpetrators.
“When Gary Wright saw photos of a bank robbery suspect on an internet news site, he immediately recognized the man in the pinstriped suit,” Slater said in a statement. “It was his 18-year-old son.”
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Mr. Wright confronted his son about the hold up, police said. The teenage suspect surrendered on Sunday, according to Slater.
“At the same time,” Slater said, “the parents of Michael Jeczalik called Boynton Beach Police and said they saw their son and Andrew Wright writing a note for a bank robbery at their home in Boynton Beach on Friday.”
Slater said the Jeczalik’s parents saw Wright leaving their house shortly before the robbery and noticed he was wearing a pinstriped suit and hat.
According to investigators, Jeczalik implicated himself, telling detectives how he gave Wright the suit and a gun to commit the robbery.
“Jeczalik told detectives that the gun used in the robbery was under the living room couch in his house,” Slater said.
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Filed under: Crime & Punishment • Gabe Falcon |
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Well, I think it's important to know what your teenagers are doing, when there are not around the house.
"Do you know where your children are"?
It is tough love and perhaps more parents should consider practicing it. Parenting is the most difficult job there is, but loving one's child does not mean sanctioning bad or criminal behavior. Accountability must be taught at a young age. If it is not taught, then society has the burden of the consequences. I commend these parents for doing what was right for their children and subsequently for all of us.
Tough decision for any parent. They did the right thing of course, but it might not feel like it to them at the moment. I would find it extremely hard to turn in my own son or daughter.