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Police kill bank robbery suspect

John McFarland, who police say robbed five banks, is shot and killed after being tracked to Palm Harbor.

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN and DEMORRIS A. LEE
Published May 3, 2006

SAFETY HARBOR - St. Petersburg detectives finally found the man they say robbed five banks, fleeing one of them drenched in red dye.

Detectives saw John McFarland walk down a staircase at a warehouse apartment talking on a cell phone. They ordered him to put up his hands. He obeyed, authorities said, then appeared to lower his right hand into his waistband.

Fearing McFarland was reaching for a gun, a detective fired six rounds from his AR-15 rifle. He hit McFarland at least twice, killing him.

No gun was found on the 49-year-old McFarland.

The St. Petersburg Police Department, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and State Attorney's Office are investigating the shooting that occurred around 1 a.m. Tuesday in Safety Harbor.

It is the first time this year a St. Petersburg officer has shot and killed someone.

Police did not release the name of the 37-year-old detective who shot McFarland because of his undercover assignment, but said he had a clean personnel record in 13 years with the department.

Kira Cooper, who said she married McFarland in an unofficial ceremony three years ago, said Tuesday that he began robbing banks to help pay mounting medical bills for her multiple sclerosis.

"He was a good man, a kind man," said Cooper, 48. "The first time he robbed a bank, he was so freaked out. He thought we were surrounded by police. He was in here talking to himself."

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, McFarland was arrested several times on charges of burglary, theft and fraud. He did several stints in prison.

In 1987, he was convicted for robbing an elderly couple in Homosassa and sentenced to 30 years in prison, records show. He was released in 2002.

Cooper said McFarland got training to do air conditioner work after getting out. He looked for work everywhere, she said, but couldn't find it. No one wanted to hire a convicted felon.

Cooper said she couldn't work either because of her disability.

By the fall of 2005, McFarland turned to crime again, police say. He's accused of robbing two Wachovia Banks and a SunTrust Bank in November and December.

When police arrested him on Jan. 3, they found a .38 caliber special revolver in his waistband, as well as marijuana and 2.7 grams of cocaine in a Doral cigarette pack wadded up in a pants pocket.

He was put in the Pinellas County Jail on $160,500 bail.

"He was in court and said he had no money," said David Heddleson, the owner of EZ Writers Bail Bonds. "But his family banded together and tried to give him another chance."

McFarland got out of jail on Jan. 24. Cooper had gathered $16,100 - about 10 percent of the total bond - to make a payment to Heddleson.

After spending so much money to get him out of jail, the couple had trouble making payments on Cooper's house.

So McFarland found more banks to rob, Cooper said.

He robbed a SunTrust Bank at 6300 Central Avenue on April 21, 2006, police say. While running away, he became splattered in red dye after reaching into a bag. Four days later, police say he robbed another SunTrust Bank at 1351 Snell Isle Blvd NE.

By then, police knew they were looking for McFarland because they recognized his face from video surveillance. They also noticed his tendency to threaten tellers by gesturing toward his pant waistband, where police found a gun the last time they arrested him.

That gesture may have led to his death at 1600 10th Street in Safety Harbor. The Sheriff's Office said the detective who fired at McFarland thought he was reaching for a gun.

"No weapon or similar object has been found," said Marianne Pasha, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office.

Police spokesman William Proffitt said officers believed McFarland had expressed suicidal thoughts to others.

Cooper knew police were searching for McFarland, but hoped he wouldn't be harmed. "They promised they would call me when they found him," she said.

McFarland left Cooper a long note last week before leaving for the warehouse apartment, telling her that she was "the only woman I will ever really and truly love."

He said he had to get more money to keep her from losing her house. Then, he offered a grim prediction of what was to come.

"There is something wrong with me," McFarland wrote. "There is no way out of this."

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at 727 893-8472 or via e-mail araghunathan@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 3, 2006, 04:39:41]