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Accused 'Stretchy Pants' Bandit: 'I Had No Other Choice'

MODESTO (CBS13) - Dressed up like a woman, a bank robber couldn't fool Ceres police. Now, he's telling CBS13 his side of the story.

Leonard Brown Jr. thought his disguise would work, and he came up with the idea all on his own, believing it was so creative he wouldn't get caught.

"A lot of people think I did it for drugs, but it wasn't," said Brown.

Brown definitely caught everyone's attention when he wore a black wig, mini skirt, complete with black stretchy pants, and a purple purse to rob a Bank of America in Ceres.

He laughed at his nickname as the "Stretchy Pants Bandit."

"It's kind of funny seeing me as a woman," said Brown.

So why did he dress up as a woman?

"Cause I thought, because the police know me, I thought it would be best to come up different," said Brown.

He believed the police wouldn't know who he was dressed as a woman.

Brown says he walked into the bank and told the teller to give him the money, and says he got away with $5,000.

"I did it just because of getting cut off food stamps, struggling," said Brown.

So he used the money for food and claims the rest went to good use.

"I mostly gave back to, like, poorer people," said Brown. "I just went around giving money away."

It was money he robbed from a bank, dressed in drag. Now he's facing some serious charges and some serious time behind bars. So, he has one last thing to say.

"Sorry mom for what I did, but I had no other choice. I was left on the streets, just got cut off food stamps, and that was the only choice I had left," said Brown.

Brown says he's never robbed a bank before and he never will again. He says he wants to make a fresh start after he serves his time.

He has had problems with the law in the past, but says this is the most serious crime he's ever committed.

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