At left, William Richard Kane III was arrested for two counts of armed robbery. He is a suspect in two bank robberies, at a Chase Bank in Pinellas Park on Sept. 27 and a First Bank in St. Petersburg on Sept. 26, as pictured at right.
ST. PETERSBURG – A man accused of robbing two banks, including one in Pinellas Park on Sept. 27, reportedly called St. Petersburg police to ask for help before attempting to rob a third.
On Sept. 28 at around 10:15 p.m., William Richard Kane III, 51, of Oldsmar called from outside a Wells Fargo Bank at 4125 4th St. N. He told officers that met him shortly thereafter that he had called to ask for help because of depression, drug addition and suicidal thoughts.
It was because of his drug addiction that he was planning to rob the Wells Fargo Bank, he said, according to police reports.
He also reportedly admitted to two other robberies in the two days prior. The first was at the First Bank at 6850 Central Avenue in St. Petersburg on Sept. 26; the second to the Chase Bank, at 7360 U.S. 19 N in Pinellas Park on Sept. 27.
St. Petersburg detectives said they determined he was responsible for both. They charged Kane with two counts of armed robbery. He was transported and booked into the Pinellas County Jail where he is being held on a $100,000 bond.
Kane has a several prior robbery convictions and was last released from state prison in 2008, according to St. Petersburg police.
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