Troy Evans was convicted of a multi-state bank robbery spree in 1992 and served seven and a half years at the same federal prison that housed Timothy McVeigh. But, he used his time wisely behind bars and earned two college degrees with 4.0 grade point averages. He now speaks about the lessons he learned from his prison cell with groups throughout the country and shared his remarkable story with Crimejunkies...

WHEN AND WHY DID YOU START ROBBING BANKS?

The bottom line is drug use. It's the reason I started robbing banks. I spent seven and a half years in prison for five armed bank robberies over a six month crime spree. Ninety percent of those incarcerated for bank robbery are either strung out on drugs or have a gambling debt to pay or they had a house that was about to be foreclosed. It's definitely an act of desperation. It's not how Hollywood portrays it. There is nothing glamourous about it. It's not Bonnie and Clyde or anything like that. So, like I said they are either strung out on drugs or have a gambling debt to pay, which personally that's what it was. At fifteen-years-old, I was a star athlete, an honor roll student and had everything going for me that major colleges were already scouting me every time I pitched. During that Summer at 15-years-old, we made a move from Phoenix to Colorado Springs. Over that Summer, I got involved with the wrong people. Over the few months before school started, back then I forgot things that were important to me and hooked up with the wrong people and started experimenting with a little marijuana use here and there. It literally took over my life. By the time school started, I was using something daily, and it just got worse and worse. As the years progressed, I finally got to the point where I could not hold a job so for me to turn to bank robbery was a natural. It was a win-win situation. That's kind of how it all got started.

TELL ME ABOUT THE FIVE ARMED BANK ROBBERIES. DID ANYONE GET HURT?

No. No one was ever hurt in my robberies. Although a gun was in my waistband during my robberies, it was never loaded. I couldn't even take the chance of accidently hurting anyone. I've never been a violent person. It was just there for show. So, no, nobody was ever hurt. I know I traumatized these individuals and that's one of the reasons why I'm working on a Presidential pardon is because I want to at least write these individuals a letter and see if there is anything I can do for something that still haunts them to this day. As it stands right now, legally I am not allowed to have contact with them. So, if there was anyone hurt -emotionally probably- physically no-  but again, I am working on a Presidential pardon right now so I can contact some of those victims and see if there is anything I can do to help them in anyway.

HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU STEAL?

To be honest with you, I don't know the total amount. I know that my take was always greater than what the average is out there. The average take was only a couple of thousand dollars. The one thing I had going for me is that I had dated a teller at one time so I had a leg up on how things operated as far as second drawers and things like that. I knew how money was counted so my take was always greater than the average. If I went back and added them all up, I don't know. Couple hundred thousand dollars maybe. I was convicted of five over a six month crime spree, and it was the type of thing that they were all working together in one federal court in Denver.

The statue of limitations is over now, so how much there was is really irrelevant, but it was the kind of thing that they wanted to get me off the streets. I obviously didn't want them looking further around the country so it was the kind of thing that it was advantageous for both of us to enter into a plea and that's what I ended up doing.  As far as the total money amount, that was never determined or brought up. Part of the plea agreement wasn't for me to pay restitution so what that exact dollar amount is, I couldn't tell you. It was significant, but again, the one thing I don't want to do is give would be bank robbers anymore ammunition than they already have. As far as why I was as successful as I was, it was obviously was because I dated a teller. One of the things I do when I talk to credit unions or their associations, I tell them that their people need to sign disclosure forms that you won't let that kind of stuff out. They've got enough ammunition as it is without knowing what the dealings are within the individual institutions.

So, in a nutshell, I don't know for sure. It's significant, but at the same time, it was the worst seven and a half years in my life. If someone came up and offered me seven and half million dollars to serve in federal prison, I'd tell them to keep their money. You can't put a price on your freedom. I had seven and a half years of my life taken away so any monetary amount is irrelevant when it comes to that. But as far as it actually was, I couldn't give you an exact dollar figure.

HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO ESCAPE FIVE TIMES WITHOUT COPS CATCHING YOU?

Obviously no one comes and drives into the first town that they come to and pulls up to the first bank or credit union they come across and pulls in and robs it. They will always be casing it to some extent. We will pull up a few times to get a feel for where we will put our getaway vehicle and will walk in and fill out a deposit slip and then walk out like they forgot something. Or, they will walk up to the teller and give bills and ask for quarters. They will get a feel of the land. I was a little more advanced than that. I would sit in restaurants and time the patrol cars and response times and things like that. I was obviously doing my homework, which is not the norm. Most of these guys are casing it, but they aren't casing it to the extent that I was is one of the reasons why I was successful as I was.

Another thing was that it was never in my own backyard. I never robbed anything in my hometown. I always traveled to other cities and states. When the story ran in newspapers with my picture, people didn't know who I was because I was not from that area so they never got any leads. I tell people to pay attention to distinguishing marks and things like that because obviously they didn't. Because if things like that came out, if the individual who checked me into the hotel I was staying out would have noticed several things. I did my homework a little bit more than most, I guess.

WHEN DID YOU FINALLY GET CAUGHT?

When I finally got caught it was a total fluke. It was actually an ex-girlfriend that turned me in. It was the type of thing that she wasn't even supposed to be home and when I came home from another state with a pile of money and set it down on the kitchen table, she came out from the bedroom because she called in sick that day and said, 'Oh my gosh, where did this come from?' I told her not to worry about it. She thought it was drug money, and she didn't ask me any questions. But, later on we parted ways and several states got together and started broadcasting that they thought one individual was responsible for these robberies. It happened to reach our city, and she put two-and-two together and called into Crimestoppers with an anonymous tip. Once they had a name and a face to go with it, that's how they eventually found out about me. But, she literally saved my life because there is no doubt in my mind that I would have been dead now if she didn't make that phone call.

Once they found the hotel I was staying at, they tricked me into coming out of the room one morning- the FBI. But, the way it worked out, it was either suicide, or I was going to keep doing what I was doing.

They knew that I had a gun, but they didn't know that it wasn't loaded. They called me early morning and said it was management and asked if I was going to stay another night. I said that I was and then he said that I need to come down and pay. I hung up the phone and went back to sleep. He called again about ten minutes later and said that he really needs me to come down because the hotel was sold out. After a few phone calls like that, I put on my bathing suit and flip-flops and started walking towards the office. It was the middle of Summer in Colorado, Colorado Springs, actually. I was still half asleep, and I remember looking at a guy changing a tire in the parking lot and wondering why he's got this big jacket on during the middle of Summer. I took about two more steps, and I realized that I've been had and sure enough I started to turn around to go back to my room, and they were on me.  I had about 15 officers' pistols pointed in my face. Obviously, that's where it went down. That was my last day of freedom for quite awhile.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO LEARN YOU WERE GOING TO SPEND 13 YEARS BEHIND BARS?

Terrifying obviously. You see what's on television and you see the way that they depict what goes on behind the walls of prison, and I was scared to death. But, human beings are amazing at adapting to their environment. At that time, I thought I was going to be spending eleven and a half years in prison since the feds require you spend 85% of your time.

Once I was arrested and went to the detention center, I finally got my head cleared after all those months of trial and finally re-connected with the kid I was when I was born. I was fifteen-years-old and made a decision, 'Hey, Troy, you're going to be who you are going to be for a very long time. What are you going to do with this time?' And, I just decided to make it as productive as I possibly could, and I decided that education was going to be it during that time. At the end result, I walked out of the prison with two degrees and a 4.0 GPA. Because I was doing the right things, I stayed away from the gangs and the drugs and a lot of doors were open for me. That's one of the things I speak about.

The transfer from one institution to the other- an institution that had a policy of reviewing the sentence computation- if I hadn't been sent there then I wouldn't have  found out that I shouldn't have been sentenced to 13 years. I should have only been sentenced to 8, and I was going home in 10 days. I ended up only doing seven and a half years when I thought I was going to be doing eleven and a half.

The golden rule is that you work hard and treat others as you want to be treated and do good with others and magical things will happen in your life. It's all about working hard and doing the right thing, and it paid off for me in the long run obviously.

YOU WERE IN THE SAME PRISON AS TIMOTHY MCVEIGH. DID YOU EVER MEET HIM?

I was in the same complex and at one time, so was John Gotti, the Unabomber, Jeffrey Dahmer for a short time. They were held in what was called the ADX, which is a separate entity in itself.

IS THAT THE PLACE NICKNAMED "BOMBERS ROW?"

Yes, exactly. It's a unique place. You can see individuals, but you cannot have any contact with them. People that are high-profile like that, they cannot be put in the general prison population so people can kill them to make a name for themselves. Although you know those individuals are there, you cannot actually talk to them. Actually the way ADX is setup, a lot of the time those guys are caught under 23 hour lockdown and just let out for an hour a day for exercise, but they are usually by themselves. So, no, I didn't actually meet him. The high-profile people are not allowed in the public population.

YOU USED YOUR TIME WISELY IN PRISON AND EARNED TWO DEGREES. WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO WORK HARD FOR AN EDUCATION?

One thing I want to mention is the association that funded my schooling was a national speakers association. Although it was never actually said, it was always kind of implied that I would use my history and accomplishments to try to make a difference in the lives of others. They funded most of my schooling and when I was released, I mentored under one of their members who was a speaker for a long time and taught me the business and helped me craft my skill. About eight months later, he kicked me out the door and said I was ready, and I've been doing it ever since.

When I did make that decision to earn a college degree, it looked like my dream to earn a college degree just wasn't going to happen so I applied to private scholarships and for six months, I spend every single day i had 14-16-sometimes even 18 hours a day sitting at my prison desk filling out applications and writing essays begging and pleading and selling myself to absolutely every private scholarship across the country that I would even remotely qualify for. I was a con, and a felon and no one wanted to help me or take a chance on me. Everyday I got a stack of rejection letters saying 'thanks but no thanks.' After six months of this, I'm thinking it's not going to happen, but the day came when I was called into my counselor's office and was told that they had just gotten a phone call from a scholarship committee chairman for a national association, and they were interested in helping with my schooling. They sent me a check for one class, and I sent in my report card, and they sent me a check for two classes and then it got to the point where they were sending entire semesters. Obviously the end result was me walking out with two degrees. And, I didn't even remotely qualify for the criteria of the scholarship with this particular gentleman, but he was so impressed with what I had done that they decided to take a chance on me. I was really lucky that someone stepped forward and was willing to help me.

WHAT HAS LIFE BEEN LIKE SINCE YOUR RELEASE?

A whirlwind, even with everything I had going for me coming out of prison. I worked in Unicor, which is Federal Prison Industries, I was an accountant in the business office. I made 80 cents and hour or something like that. Over the seven and a half years, I was able to save $26,000. So I walked out of prison with two degrees, a 4.0 and a chunk of money. My folks welcomed me back into their home until I could get back onto my feet. I had everything going for me, but I'm still coming out as a felon. I  did not have anything on my credit report so I could not get credit cards. It was like I had dropped off the face of the Earth. It was still hard to establish a lifestyle despite everything I had going for me. Credit was an issue. I couldn't get insurance in the state of Arizona. They had a policy, I don't know if it's still in place now, but there was a policy at the time that if you couldn't prove that you had insurance the prior two years then the insurance companies weren't allowed to issue you a policy. Well, there was no loophole for someone like me, who obviously was at a place that didn't require insurance so I couldn't get auto insurance. It got to the point where I called and said the place where I resided for the past seven and a half years didn't require insurance, and they thought I meant another country and they didn't ask and I didn't say and they issued me a policy.

Despite everything I had, I still had a felony hanging over my head. Even in my personal life, I found it better if people got to know me before I tell them where I'd been for the last seven and half years. I found out quickly that it didn't work to walk up to someone and say, 'Hi, my name is Troy. I spent the last seven and a half years in prison. Would you like to have dinner tonight?' It was the kind of thing where I just had to prove myself all over again. I was in the free world, but it was just like anything else, when you just have to show that you are who you are. When I went to prison, I had burned just about every bridge that was out there. The only people that wanted anything to do with me were my folks and my sister, even my brother had given up on me.

I decided that instead of saying I turned myself around through education while I was incarcerated, I could tell people that, but I had made the decision that my actions are going to show the person that I am. I got straight A's and a first degree and was working on my second and in the end people started coming around. All of a sudden birthday cards and Christmas cards and letters started showing up. It's the same kind of thing out here in the free world. I get out here and am doing the right things and working hard. Magical things happened in my life. People started helping me out and taking chances on me. And where I am now- I'm a professional speaker and a best-selling author. My agent is very close to landing a movie deal for telling my life story. So, every time I think it can't get any better, something new comes. Knock on wood. I stay very busy, and I love what I do, and I'm making a difference in people's lives.

So, what's it like, obviously a whirlwind. It was hard at first because when I was institutionalized, it was like a city within a city, and you get used to looking over your shoulder a lot and why are people walking up behind you? I was in an environment where people were beaten and stabbed over the color of their skin and killed because they step in front of somebody else. It was such an animalistic world. When you are put in that environment, you are then let out here in the free world where obviously things are so much different. It took me a long time until I felt comfortable walking through a mall and having so many people around me and coming up behind me. It was the kind of thing where I had to ease myself back into it. It wasn't easy. The nice about what I do for a living is that I re-live that all the time. I re-live that on stage and where I was at one time. I think it's good to re-live it, and it's real important to make sure that I don't go back to that person that I once was, although I know I never would. It's emotional for me and good to re-live it and be reminded of what that world's like. That's definitely not something that I want to be apart of.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE'S REACTIONS WHEN YOU TELL THEM YOUR STORY?

To be honest with you, people are enthralled with the whole former bank robber who turned his life around and is now a motivational speaker and author. The one thing about me, in all of my dealings, whether it's business or personal, I need to make sure that I am head and shoulders above everyone else integrity wise. I need to always be on time and always do what I say I'm going to do. It's always going to be back in people's minds, even the clients that bring me in. They pay me a lot of money to deliver a keynote. They have contracts with me for substantial amounts of money, and they are paying a good amount of money for my books for everyone in attendance. In the back of their minds, some of them are thinking that this guy was once a criminal and a thief. That's why I pride myself on integrity. I always take the highest road and do what I say I'm going to do. No one is going to catch me in a lie because I don't lie. I'm always head and shoulders. I go to extremes to make sure that people know and realize that I do what I say I'm going to do. I think that's important.

When you look at some of the groups that I speak to now- banking associations, credit unions- obviously several years ago when a colleague suggested targeting some of the banking associations around the country, it was very black and white. 'Are you out of your mind? There is no way that we are bringing the enemy in the backyard.' And the other half was, 'Oh my gosh, what a concept. Who better to look into the mind of the enemy than someone who's actually been there and done that?' One of the first associations, a New York banker's association, hired me to do a keynote at their conference, and it was the very first one that I did. That's the oldest banking association in the country. It was very respected obviously, and I was the first speaker in their entire history since they started taking records of this that had received a perfect 5.0 on their evaluations. Once that happened, it was just a ripple effect and word of mouth started spreading from state to state. All of a sudden all of the ones that didn't want to bring me in, wanted to bring me in and that type of thing. Even the people who you think wouldn't want anything to do with me or to hire me to give the inside of the mind of the enemy. I talk to the institutions and tell them what the bank robber is looking for and here is how they think.

I speak at FBI crime prevention days where 500 FBI agents are listening into my insights into the crimes and when it takes place and what they can do. Even the people who you think would shun me are embracing me. They realize that I have something valuable to offer. People's reactions vary. The ones that didn't want anything to do with me are bringing me in and paying me a lot of money to speak. Even if people are weary of me at first, they find that I am a nice person, and it's good to do business with me, and I am a man of my word. Reaction overall has been fantastic. I hope others will learn from me. My whole thing is, when I walk off that stage and the feedback I get from people, what I want people to realize is that my whole message is about overcoming adversity and adapting to change and pushing yourself to realizing your whole. What I want people to learn from after hearing me speak is, 'You know what, if Troy accomplished that in a federal prison, I can accomplish anything out here in the free world with all the resources that I have at my disposal. I think that based on the feedback that I get from people is that they realize that, 'Hey, this change that I'm going through or this bump in the road or this divorce that I'm going through, this death in the family or being laid-off or whatever it is in their life, they realize that I can overcome this. It's not the end of the world, and I just have to keep working hard and good things will happen to me. I also hoped that they've realized that I don't care what type of internal prisons or the things that I talk about when I speak to associations, it's my belief that we all have prisons within ourselves, prisons that can be just as confining as the one that held me all those years. Depression, overworking, being involved in bad relationships, the list can go on and on. Like I said, these things can be just as confining as the prison that physically held me.  I try to give some insight into how you can free yourself inside these types of prisons.  

My core message is the same no matter who I'm speaking to- an HR manager, a banker, an educator, a sales rep or a CEO of a Fortune 500 company- everyone deals with adversity and overcoming adversity and adapting to change and how you can push yourself to realize your full potential. That's universal. I don't care what you do for a living, I don't care what your social status is or how much money you make, everyone deals with those issues. I think that's why I'm so successful across the board. A lot of speakers sort of get niched into certain sectors, either education or finance or HR or sales. I started out with education associations, and it was a great fit because I used education to turn my life around. That really resonates with them. They can tie it with who they are or what they do for a living.  What I found quickly started happening is that someone told their spouse, 'This guys got a great message. You should hire him for your awards banquet.’ Next thing I know is that I'm getting calls from the National Potato Counsel because it turned out that potato farmers wanted to hear me speak. With some of these groups, I think, 'Where does this come from?' I just quickly realized that the message is universal, like I said it doesn't matter what you do for a living or what your social status is and you don't have to go to prison to learn the lessons that I've learned. These lessons can be applied to everyday life regardless of what your situation is so that's what I hope people learn from it.

YOU HAVE AN INCREDIBLE STORY, ESPECIALLY WITH THE RECIDIVISM RATE, TO SEE THAT YOU ARE SO SUCCESSFUL.

Thank you. I appreciate it. That's one of the things that I am hoping to work on is the recidivism rate. It's ridiculous. First and foremost, I think our criminal justice system is the greatest in all the world. I never want to give the perception that it's not. If I broke the rules of the law, then I deserve to be incarcerated. But, unfortunately, our criminal justice system is now all about incarceration and not about rehabilitation. It's a shame. Believe me, I've met people who never need to walk the streets free again, certified animals, but I can I also tell you how many genuinely good people I've met that made one mistake. They are good family men, they lost their job, their house was about to be foreclosed on and they have three kids to feed and made one mistake by introducing someone to somebody else to make a quick buck. Next thing you know, they are caught up in a conspiracy case and they have a 30 year sentence, which is potentially a life sentence for them. We need to do something about that because what it's doing is costing us all.

It costs $36,000 a year to house an inmate but would cost a fraction of that to educate that individual. I've seen studies that show that an inmate that comes out with a two year degree, associates degree, their re-arrest rate is ten percent compared to someone who comes out with nothing at all, the re-arrest rate is 60 percent. When you do the math, we are all paying a price for this in one way shape or form. Whether you are a victim of a crime or because your insurance goes up because of crimes or your taxes, it's just a universal revolving door that we need to do something about it. That's why I'm hoping some of these big things start happening for me, and it will free me up to do the kinds of things that are near and dear to my heart. Some national groups have approached me to do some lobbying about those types of things and hold me up as a type of poster boy, 'Look what he's accomplished in prison' just to start getting some educational programs back in the institutions. The kind of people that want to turn their lives around and get back in the right track and be productive members of society. This would give them an opportunity to do that instead of locking them up and throwing away the key. Hopefully you will be seeing me on a bigger venue pretty soon. I'll try to rally some people and get some changes made in the way our system is run right now.

For further information, please visit: www.troyevans.com.

Also, for more information on bank robberies, check out this financial crime blog at “U.S. News and World Report.”