FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ When a naked bank robber was arrested as he ran along Las Olas Boulevard throwing stolen money in the air last July, many figured it was just another bizarre South Florida moment.
But after months of psychiatric testing by prison doctors, the experts concluded that Alexander Sperber, 26, was so severely mentally ill that he cannot be held criminally responsible for the bank robbery.
The evidence was so overwhelming that a federal judge found Sperber not guilty by reason of insanity on Wednesday after a trial that lasted 25 minutes.
It's an extremely unusual outcome for federal defendants. Nationwide statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice show just seven people were found not guilty by reason of insanity in the federal system in 2016, the most recent numbers available.
Sperber went into the downtown Fort Lauderdale Regions Bank branch shortly after 3 p.m. on July 25, told the teller he had a gun _ though he didn't _ and took off with $4,700 in cash.
As he ran along Las Olas Boulevard, a dye pack in the stash of money exploded, covering him in red dye, prosecutors said. He began to shed his clothes and was promptly arrested and questioned by investigators.
"Mr. Sperber stated that a chip installed in his head compelled him to commit the bank robbery to further his career as a comedian," prosecutor Donald Chase told the judge.
