A Davidson County Sheriff’s Deputy was arrested and charged for robbing F&M Bank on West Main Street in Rockwell, NC.
Deputy Jeff Athey calmly walked into the bank without hiding his face from security cameras. He showed a teller his firearm and said, “Give me $1,000.”
Athey, who prosecutors say has PTSD and depression, was arrested just 4 minutes after he committed the armed robbery.
In addition to working as an officer, Athey had also worked as a private contractor for Blackwater in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to court documents, Athey “built a concrete bunker in his mother’s house, outfitted with bells and cans to alert him if someone was entering or approaching” possibly similar to his Middle East living quarters.
Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said HIPAA law would not allow the police department to know about the severe mental health problems of Athey, even though he carried a gun and regularly interacted with people as part of his job.
“We would not know about any mental health issues unless it manifested itself around here. Because he has ability through our employee assistance program and our insurance carrier to go to mental health treatment and we wouldn’t be informed about it,” Grice said.
Prosecutors said Athey had worked part-time over the Christmas holiday as a security guard at the bank, which is a violation of Davidson County Sheriff’s Office policy.