Judge orders probation for brain-injured man in attempted bank robbery

A Ramona man who suffers from brain damage has been sentenced to credit for time already served with three years probation for attempting to rob the Wells Fargo Bank inside the Stater Bros. supermarket in 2012.

Stephen Michael Coulter, 53, didn’t take any money even though the teller placed it on the counter after he handed the teller a note that said “this is a bank robbery.”

The incident occurred on May 3, 2012.

Coulter pleaded guilty to attempted bank robbery.

His attorney said Coulter suffered a brain injury in an accident when he was 15 years old, and he was declared a ward of the state.