A Connecticut man obsessed with Taylor Swift allegedly robbed a local bank, then drove to her Rhode Island home and thew money over her fence in a bid to impress her, authorities said Tuesday.
Derby resident Bruce Rowley, 26, was arrested on Thursday, a day after he allegedly held up the Webster Bank in Ansonia, Connecticut, the Ansonia Police Department said.
Ansonia Police spokesman Lt. Patrick Lynch told the Hartford Courant newspaper that Rowley admitted he stole $1,600 and drove to Swift’s Watch Hill, Rhode Island, mansion, which she bought in 2013 for $17.75 million, and tossed some over the fence for the 28-year-old singer to find.
“We didn’t know about Taylor Swift until our officers picked him up from state police to drive him back to Ansonia. He began to talk all about it in the cruiser,” Lynch said.
“It seemed he wanted to propose to her, but she wasn’t home when he went there. He said he threw some of the money over a fence to impress her.”
Rowley was first spotted by Rhode Island State Police after his vehicle details were entered into a national database. When he failed to stop, he was pursued into Connecticut, where police used spikes to flatten his tires. He was also bitten by a police dog while being taken into custody.
Rowley has been charged with second-degree robbery and fourth-degree larceny, according to online court records. He’s is being held on $100,000 bail.
A spokesperson for the public defender’s office, which is representing Rowley, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.