June 27, 2007

Jeffrey Adams is the man police say walked into the Union Bank and Trust and tried to rob the bank back on June 1.

Today 'The Hook,' one of the weekly papers in town, received their second letter from Adams. Among other things he said he was sorry about the crime.

"It's not often you get a letter from an alleged bank robber apologizing for his crime," said Dave McNair, an editor and reporter at The Hook.

But McNair and other editors said Jeffrey Adams, the suspect in a bank robbery earlier this month, did just that. The letter arrived sometime in the past two weeks or so.

"At first we thought maybe it was a hoax because it seemed so strange," said McNair.

Hook editors contacted jail officials who confirmed the letter was in fact from Adams. And then Wednesday, another letter from Adams himself, arrived at The Hook saying the first letter was authentic.

In the note, Adams said: "My sincere apologies to the employees of Union Bank & Trust and its customers, and to the people and city of Charlottesville."

Adams even commented on the city employee, Cory Jordan. Jordan called 911 the morning of the robbery to report seeing something suspicious.

"My compliments to the keenly observant Mr. Corey Jordan," wrote Adams. He went on to say he hopes "the city of Charlottesville will ensure his continued employment with a promotion and a raise in pay. "

"The tone of his letter, he sounds less like a hoodlum and more like a dandy," said McNair.

On June 13, just days after Adams wrote the letter to the Hook, he pleaded not guilty to the robbery. Editors wonder how this apology for the crime might play out in a courtroom as potential evidence.

"We don't know if the letters are going to be subpoenaed or how that plays into his defense or prosecution," said McNair. "Right now it's still sort of a mystery to us."

Meanwhile the other suspect in the robbery, John Amann, also pleaded not guilty to the crime. No word yet on when this case will go to trial.

***Full text of the first letter sent to The Hook, post-marked June 11, 2007:

Dear Editors,

I would like to take this opportunity to extend;

My sincere apologies to the employees of Union Bank & Trust and its customers, and to the people and City of Charlottesville,

My professional respect of the Police Department for its fine and swift actions,

And my compliments to the keenly observant Mr. Corey Jordan, with my sincere hopes that, at the very least, the City of Charlottesville will ensure his continued employment with a promotion and a raise in pay. If there is a cash reward, he certainly deserves one, and I hope that his reputation among the young ladies of Charlottesville as a decisive young (and handsome) man of action precedes him.

Incidentally, I prefer coffee only in the coldest of months. Splendora's is an excellent place to enjoy a bottle of water before one must go to work.

In closing, I would like to say that I would replace Forget Yourself with Uninvited, Like the Clouds, the 2006 release by the tragically under-recognized Aussie quartet The Church, add anything by Sigür Ros, as well as Everyone Into Position from the awe-inspiring British rockers Oceansize.

However, I maintain that Talk Talk's Laughing Stock is the single finest recording in modern popular music, and is essential to any personal library and bears daily, repeated listening.

I remain,

Jeffrey A. Adams