Was 69-year-old William Minore so desperate to make a film about global warming that he robbed a bank?

Police and prosecutors in Leelanau County say he was. Today, Minore is in jail awaiting trial for armed robbery for a September 7 bank heist, one that bears a striking resemblance to two 2015 bank robberies in Benzie County. In this week's Northern Express - sister publication of The Ticker - investigative reporter Patrick Sullivan talks with officials involved about the details of the case, plus sits down for a jailhouse interview with Minore.

Prior to his arrest, Minore launched a GoFundMe campaign for a film he believed would convince the masses that humanity is destroying the earth, promising a “film that will be like a rollercoaster ride, pinning the audience in their seats as they experience the cold terror an unchanged future will bring.” In addition to seeking funding for the project, Minore had also personally fallen on hard financial times, sometimes camping in the woods and at other times living in a squalid trailer in Benzonia.

On September 7, prosecutors allege Minore stole a silver Kia Soul in Glen Arbor, placed two phony 911 calls to divert police away from Empire, then robbed the Huntington National Bank in Empire, walking out the door with $40,000. The evidence indicting Minore is compelling, but also circumstantial - surveillance footage shows a masked suspect who can't be clearly identified, and while a silver Kia is caught on tape coming in and out of Empire, its license plate and driver are not visible. Authorities weren't able to find the stolen cash, clothing from the robbery or any other evidence to link Minore to the crime in a search of his property. Minore himself professes his innocence, admitting to taking the Kia but saying he thought he was doing someone a favor. "Somebody asked me to move a vehicle,” he says. “I was set up.”

Is Minore guilty of the Empire bank heist? Pick up this week's Northern Express - available online or at 600 distribution spots across 14 counties - to read more about the case ahead of the impending trial, including the timeline of events, new details and evidence, and interviews with law enforcement, friends and family members, and Minore himself.