Friends of bank robbery suspect say something doesn't add up
Story Created:
Oct 21, 2011 at 5:31 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Oct 21, 2011 at 6:09 PM EDT
UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - Those who know him best say there's no way a developmentally disabled robbery suspect could have done it.
"Having known Joey for probably 15 years, I know he can't read or write, so he couldn't have written a note and would never steal anything. He goes around many times collecting bottles when he's not volunteering all over the community and he would not even steal a five cent bottle," says Betty Abel, Director of Operations at Hope House, where suspect Joseph Hill volunteered washing dishes.
Hill faces a third-degree robbery charge and is accused of robbing the new NBT bank in downtown Utica on Thursday.
"Well, I think it's obviously...somebody else wrote the note and obviously probably put him up to it. Joey wouldn't even comprehend if somebody gave him a piece of paper and said, 'go in this building'. He wouldn't be able to comprehend what the note said, let alone the concept of robbing it. And he really can't add money, so he would have no idea if he had a bag full of money, how much it was or what it meant," says Abel.
Hill is currently released on his own recognizance, meaning he is free, without having to post bail, as the case moves through the courts. Utica Police say they're still investigating, including the possibility that others are involved in the robbery.
Attorney Stephen Lockwood is representing Hill. Lockwood declined comment.
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