Cheyenne Man Accused Of Robbing Bank Says Voices Told Him To Do It
The man accused of robbing a bank in Cheyenne on Monday said voices told him to commit the crime, according to the an affidavit filed in federal court on Tuesday.
Terry Jervah was taken into custody after he called authorities several hours after the 9:30 a.m. robbery of the Bank of the West at 800 Carey Ave., according to the affidavit.
He was taken to the Cheyenne Police Department, waived his Miranda rights and told an FBI agent what happened.
"Jervah stated that he is schizophrenic and that voices told him to rob the bank. There are many voices that command him to do things that are illegal. The voices tell him they will have him murdered if he doesn't follow through with the commands the voices give him," the agent wrote.
Jervah was diagnosed with schizophrenia two years ago, takes medication, and is in treatment in a mental health facility in Cheyenne.
Monday morning, he woke up at 6 a.m., had obsessive thoughts to rob the bank, and took his medication at 8 a.m.
An hour later, he left his house, walked along 17th Street toward the bank, walked around the block several times, entered the bank and gave a teller a note, according to the affidavit.
"'This is a robbery, I have a gun, Give me money, No funny stuff.' The note was written on computer paper with a blue pen. He placed the note in his back pocket before leaving his house. When asked where he came up with the content for the bank robbery note, he stated that he saw it in the newspaper from another bank robbery somewhere in the state. Jervah stated that he did not have a gun with him," according to the affidavit.
The teller put more than $13,024 on the counter, he put that amount in a book bag and left some on the counter because he was in a hurry and didn't want to get caught.
Jervah walked home, put the bag on his bed and contemplated his next move.
"The voices were telling him he should take a cab to the Greyhound Bus Station and take the bus to California where he used to live," according to the affidavit. "Jervah stated that he looked on the computer and found a surveillance picture of himself from the bank robbery. He decided at that time that he was going to turn himself in."
The government is seeking to detain Jervah pending trial. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years of imprisonment.