Scuba-Diving Robber Sentenced to 11 Years
A decorated Navy veteran who robbed a credit union and then hid in the Mississippi River in scuba gear was sentenced in St. Paul to 11 years in prison.
Mark W. Samples, 41, of Hager City, Wis., was convicted in May of stealing more than $70,000 in the holdup. Witnesses said he fled on a mountain bike, then made his way to the river’s edge, donned scuba gear and drifted downstream to his car.
Samples said at trial that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as the result of a 1987 Iraqi missile strike, apparently accidental, on the U.S. frigate Stark that killed 37 sailors. Samples was decorated for heroism in the incident.
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