Thief scribbled note on his own birth certificate to rob bank — then threw stolen money out the window

A Missouri man has pled guilty to a federal charge after he confessed to stealing less than $1,000 from an area bank by writing a demand note on his own birth certificate.

A criminal complaint stated that on the morning of July 20, Michael Conley Loyd, 30, walked into a Bank of America in Springfield, Missouri, wearing "a gray, cut-off t-shirt, with blue gym shorts, and an orange shoe on his right foot" and passed a demand note to an unidentified teller. According to reports, the note was written in pink highlighter and said, "Give Your Money Now. Don’t Say Anything. I Have A Partner Outside."

The fearful teller then handed Loyd $754. Loyd "took the money and the demand note, turned away from the teller counter, and exited the west entrance of the BOA," the criminal complaint added. He then drove away in his roommate's black Dodge Ram truck.

However, Loyd quickly got cold feet when he saw several police vehicles with sirens blaring drive into the bank. He then threw the stolen money, his birth certificate, and another form of identification out the truck window. Loyd also supposedly texted his unnamed roommate and asked her to report her truck stolen and to listen to the police scanner.

The roommate's boyfriend then called police, and Loyd was soon afterward apprehended at his home in Lazy Acres Mobile Home Park, which is located just a few miles from the bank. He had changed into other clothes.

At the time of the incident, Loyd was also wearing an ankle monitor related to another offense, and a tracking company confirmed that his "ankle monitor was inside the Bank of America at the time of the robbery," Loyd's plea agreement admitted.

Once in police custody, Loyd confessed to the crime, saying he had done it to "prove a point" to his lover, identified only as Ashley. However, as several outlets have noted, the "point" he was trying to make to Ashley remains unclear.

On Friday, Loyd pled guilty to one count of bank robbery and now faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. It is unclear when he is scheduled to be sentenced.

"Loyd told investigators that he expected to receive prison time and he would take full responsibility for whatever punishment he was to receive," court documents say.

Though the exact reason Loyd was wearing an ankle bracelet remains unclear, Law & Crime reported that a man with the same first, middle, and last name "was charged with drug offenses, driving without a valid license, resisting or interfering with arrest, and a 'stealing offense' (as a four-time or four-plus-time repeat offender) in the spring and summer of 2022." Law & Crime also claimed that a person bearing the same full name has "a lengthy state-level rap sheet."