ILLINOIS CHILD WELFARE officials are investigating allegations of child endangerment in the case of Lauri L. Ruble, who allegedly brought her five-year-old son with her while she and her boyfriend robbed a bank.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, Ruble and her boyfriend Brandon Stancliff proceeded to the Wauconda Community Bank in Island Lake with the intent of committing armed robbery on Dec. 29. The couple left Ruble’s house with an orange bandana, a butcher’s knife, and Ruble’s five-year-old son who sat in the car while the felons robbed the bank.
Ruble had gone into the bank to ask about a change-counting machine, hoping to figure out how many tellers were on duty. Shortly after Ruble left, Stancliff entered the building wielding the knife and demanding money. With the child in tow, the couple reportedly got away with $4,800 in cash. The pair were later identified by a police informant and arrested.
While Ruble was released on a $5,000 bail on Jan.12, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is launching a full investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect filed against the couple. The department could not comment on the boy’s status, but Ruble told Federal Bureau of Investigation representatives she regrets putting her son in such danger.
This is not the first time a woman from Illinois has had her child accompany her on a bank robbery. In 2007, Lyndsey Tucker was charged with robbing a bank while her four-year-old daughter waited in an SUV. Tucker was sentenced to 53 months in prison.
If anything, these two instances demonstrate how far some parents are willing to go to avoid paying for daycare services in the economic recession.
—Kyle Darbyson
