Hurricane evacuee robs BB&T bank

A desperate Hurricane Katrina evacuee robbed a Madisonville bank Monday morning and was nabbed just a few minutes later in Sweetwater. Francis Holland, 29, told police he and his girlfriend and three kids had been staying at the Knights Inn hotel on Highway 68 in Sweetwater and were at the end of their stay and had no money to extend their stay. “They’re from Gulf Port, Miss., and have been in this area for 80 days,” Madisonville Police Chief Gregg Breeden said. “Holland has worked construction off and on, they’ve received some aid from the Red Cross, but he didn’t have a job at the time and decided he would rob a bank to pay for things.” In his signed confession, Holland said he handed a note to a BB&T clerk telling her he wanted her money. The clerk gave him the money and he left, returning to his Ford Explorer parked in the old Food Lion parking lot. Holland said he was halfway across the parking lot when the red dye pack went off, covering him and the money in red ink. He dropped the money and took off. As he was leaving, Holland said he saw a police car and “knew it was over.” Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Tonia Norwood found Holland in Sweetwater and stopped him in front of Kmart, along with assistance from Sweetwater Police Officer Barry Mathews. Holland threw his keys out of the car and placed his hands on the vehicle. He told Norwood he didn’t have any weapons and wouldn’t resist arrest. Holland referred to his wife in his confession, but Breeden said they weren’t legally married. “She didn’t know anything about the robbery,” Breeden said. “She was devastated to hear about it. As far as we know, she and the three children will be returning to Mississippi to stay with relatives. She did stay with a local family right after it happened.” In his confession Holland expressed regret for his actions, stating, “without thinking I made the worst decision. Trying to help my family I have left them in a way that is worse than being homeless. I’m sorry to my wife and anyone else hurt by my actions.” Police recovered all the money taken by Holland, though they declined, for security reasons, to say how much he took. “It was blowing all over the place,” Madisonville Police Detective Darron Bivens said, “but we managed to find it. We even found $6 that belonged to him. Apparently the dye pack exploding scared him so bad he dropped everything.” “He obviously wasn’t a professional,” Breeden added. “He had no idea the dye pack was in there and really did nothing more than hand a note over. There was no weapon involved and he didn’t even pretend to have a gun.” Holland is being charged with robbery. Bivens said he called federal officials, who usually handle bank robberies, but was told to keep it on a local level. Holland has a minor offense record for disorderly conduct and failure to appear. Both of those charges happened outside of Tennessee.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.