Bank robber not guilty by reason of mental disease

A 22-year-old man who said he robbed a Saukville bank last year after hearing voices in his head that told him to get “locked away” was found not guilty by reason of mental disease last week.

After making that determination based on a psychiatric evaluation during a Sept. 22 hearing, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Adam Gerol ordered Saukville resident Scott E. Ciamarichello committed to the custody of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services for five years.

Gerol ordered the department to conduct a predispositional investigation to help him determine if Ciamarichello should be treated at a secure mental health institution or in the community, a decision he is scheduled to make on Oct. 14.

A not guilty by reason of mental disease plea, or a so-called insanity plea, triggers a two-step process. First it must be determined if the defendant committed the crime he is charged with, and during last week’s hearing Ciamarichello pleaded no contest to one felony count of robbery of a financial institution.

The second step is for the court to decide if the defendant lacked the capacity at the time the crime was committed to understand the wrongfulness of his acts and is therefore not legally responsible for the crime. Because of the psychiatric evaluation of Ciamarichello, which his lawyer, Anthony Cotton, said during a hearing in August supported a not guilty by reason of mental disease plea, that was not in dispute in his case.

Ciamarichello, who made little attempt to hide his identity and turned himself in at the urging of his roommate shortly after the December robbery at the Kohler Credit Union branch on East Green Bay Avenue, has been held in the county jail in lieu of $50,000 bail since his arrest.

According to a criminal complaint, Saukville police officers responded to a bank alarm at the credit union at 4:22 p.m. Dec. 12, 2025, and were told by employees that a man wearing a black coat, neck covering and knit hat demanded money from a teller, then left.

Officers quickly identified the man as Ciamarichello by looking at surveillance video.

A teller told officers that Ciamarichello approached him and placed a note on the counter that read, “This is a robbery, don’t make this messy. 100s, 50s and 20s. No marked bills. Don’t say a word, act normal,” the complaint states.

The teller said he showed the note to another bank employee, then gave Ciamarichello money from his cash drawer. He said Ciamarichello put the money in a sling bag, said, “Thanks, bud” and walked out of the credit union office, according to the complaint.

Ciamarichello stole $1,065 in marked and unmarked bills, the complaint states.

After Ciamarichello left, an employee locked the doors and saw him drive away in a white, four-door car.

Surveillance video showed the Chevrolet Malibu and its license plate, which officers traced to Ciamarichello.

The robbery was also caught on video and showed Ciamarichello putting the note on the counter and the teller pressing an alarm button under the counter. Officers noted Ciamarichello’s face was visible and he was not wearing gloves, the complaint states.

Shortly after the robbery, officers received a call from Ciamarichello’s roommate, who told them that they were en route to the police station so Ciamarichello could turn himself in.

The roommate said Ciamarichello bluntly told him, “I robbed a bank. I don’t know what to do,” and he convinced Ciamarichello to turn himself in, according to the complaint.

After being arrested, Ciamarichello told officers that about a month earlier he began experiencing mental health problems and wanted to kill himself with the gun he owned. He said voices in his head told him to kill himself or get “locked away,” the complaint states.

Ciamarichello said he devised a plan to get arrested, adding that on the day of the robbery he felt numb and heard voices in his head telling him to rob a bank, according to the complaint.

He said he told the teller he did not want to hurt anyone, which is why he wasn’t carrying his gun.

Ciamarichello told officers that he intended to gamble with the stolen money but his roommate talked him out of it. The money stolen from the bank was recovered, the complaint states.