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Lawyer is accused of demanding $50K, the amount owed in ethics case, during attempted bank robbery

A lawyer in Washington state has been charged with attempted first-degree robbery for an alleged bank holdup that ended when police arrived at the scene.

Police say Richard Evan Kriger, 60, was wearing a fake beard, dark glasses, a baseball cap and gloves when he arrived Dec. 13 at the Banner Bank in Everett, HeraldNet reports. Before arriving, Kriger had made an appointment to take out a $26,000 loan in unmarked bills for his nephew, according to a prior HeraldNet story.

Washington State bar records indicate Kriger was suspended for two years on Dec. 15, 2014, with all but four months of the suspension withheld. According to HeraldNet, the suspension was for mismanaging a trust account involving his son. Kriger still owes about $50,000, the amount he sought in the robbery, according to prosecutors.

During the alleged holdup, Kriger passed a note demanding cash, police say. He is accused of telling a bank employee his nephew was waiting outside with a rifle and would begin shooting people if the bank did not give Kriger the money, or if an alarm was triggered.

The note, filed with the court, also demanded keys to the bank manager’s vehicle and told bank employees to wait before calling police. “Count to 500 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi etc. etc. etc. before you call police,” the note said.

Despite Kriger’s warning, the employee triggered an alarm. No one was waiting outside when police arrived, according to HeraldNet.