KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Jurors in a federal court made short work Tuesday rejecting a "diabetes defense," delivering a guilty verdict in less than an hour in the armed robbery of the Tennessee Members First FCU in December 2006.
Defense attorneys for Thomas Phelan tried to convince jurors Phelan's blood sugar - recorded as unusually high after his arrest - might have put him in too much of a stupor to know what he was doing on the morning he showed up at the credit union armed with a realistic-looking air pistol and demanded cash.
Prosecutors countered that it was Phelan's choice of a Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink to celebrate after the heist that sent his blood sugar soaring.
An FBI agent confirmed that authorities took Phelan to a local hospital before jailing him after Phelan complained he "needed insulin." His medical chart showed a blood sugar level more than four times the normal benchmark.
Authorities told the court Phelan, who also is charged with robbing a bank in Ohio days before the Knoxville robbery, stood out among robbers. He walked into the credit union dressed head-to-toe in Harley Davidson gear, complete with leather boots adorned with fiery flames. He summoned a limousine to serve as his getaway vehicle and paid for his Yoo-Hoo with a wad of stolen credit union cash while an off-duty Knoxville Police Department officer watched.
