Saturday, August 14, 2004

Accused robber pleads guilty, committed crime while dressed as Osama bin Laden with t-shirt as turban

The Lynchburg paper reports here ("Osama lookalike enters guilty plea," 8/14/04) on the guilty plea in the case of a man accused of dressing up like Osama bin Laden then robing a hotel.

The article says in part:

"Although significantly shorter, Cooke has a long, black beard and a complexion comparable to bin Laden’s. When he was arrested in Pennsylvania, Cooke told the trooper that he put a white T-shirt on his head before robbing the Lynchburg hotel.

Bennett said Cooke thought the T-shirt would appear to be a white turban, and the clerks would think he looked like the wanted terrorist and be scared into giving him money.

Bennett’s account drew several chuckles from people in the court’s gallery.

Cooke got $140 from the cash register and $265 from the safe, Bennett said.

Although he didn’t have a gun, Cooke held his finger against a clerk’s back and pretended it was a weapon."

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