Pierce County prosecutors have filed charges against a man accused of robbing a Fife bank on Tuesday, then halting the heist and eventually surrendering to police.

Kenneth Dell Haley, 41, was charged Wednesday with first-degree robbery and threatening to bomb or injure property. He was ordered held in the Pierce County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Haley told investigators he had a severe gambling problem.

“If I get locked up, I can’t gamble,” he told detectives, according to court documents.

The documents provided the following information:

Haley went to the Bank of America, 5003 Pacific Highway E., and handed a teller a note indicating he had a bomb and wanted cash. Haley toted a bag with him. The teller put an undisclosed amount of cash in a plastic bag and handed it to Haley.

“Haley told bank employees that there was no bomb and he was not going to leave; instead he would wait for police,” court documents state.

Police were called and the employees evacuated. Officers directed Haley to leave the bank and he surrendered without incident. Police removed Haley’s bag and hit it with an air blast. The bag contained Haley’s personal belongings. The stolen cash was recovered.

Stacey Mulick, The News Tribune