Man turns himself in for Jacksonville bank robbery, says he was on “crack cocaine binge”

A Jacksonville man turned himself in a day after her robbed a local credit union, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Kris Reinertsen turned himself in the following day and he was charged with armed robbery, the newspaper reported. Armed robbery is a first-degree felony and punishable by up to life in prison. Reinertsen is being held in the Duval County jail without bond until the case resolves.

It’s unclear just how Reinertsen was armed because initial reports said he did not show a weapon. He allegedly did pass a note and make threats in that note before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash, the newspaper reported. But the note alone would not be enough to charge him with armed robbery, even if the note did indicate that Reinertsen had a gun or a knife on him. He would have had to actually possess the gun or knife during the robbery, so perhaps he told that to police during the interview when he turned himself in on this Jacksonville Armed Robbery Charge. Reinertsen told police he was on a “crack cocaine binge” when he robbed the bank, the newspaper reported. That’s another charge he the state cannot file, unless of course Reinertsen had cocaine on him when he came to police for the interview. A person has to physically possess a drug to be charged with possession, it’s not enough if a person just says they were doing drugs.

Apparently Reinertsen was rather forthcoming with police, to the point the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office posted “Apparently, he felt remorse,” on its Facebook page once he had turned himself into police. While he may have felt remorse and he may want to serve his time and move on, Reinertsen likely did not do himself any favors if he planned on taking his Jacksonville Armed Robbery Case to trial, simply because the state has his own words saying he did it. He may have helped himself in terms of sentencing by admitting his crime, though. Some judges place more weight in that than others, it will remain to be seen once his Jacksonville Armed Robbery Case is finalized.

Reinertsen likely wasn’t going to be on the lam too long anyway. Surveillance footage taken inside the bank showed his face very clearly – he was not wearing a mask, hat, sunglasses or anything to disguise himself whatsoever. And if the state blew those photos up nice and large and showed them to the jury with Reinertsen sitting in the courtroom, it’d be pretty clear who’s face jurors were looking at on the poster.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Duval County Violent Crimes Attorney, Victoria “Tori” Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.