Aiken rejects plea deal, bank robbery case headed to trial

The man who, investigators say, confessed to robbing a bank rejected a plea deal on Tuesday. This means Glenn Aiken’s case is headed to trial.

Glenn Aiken and his attorneys tried asking the judge for more time in order to decide if he wanted to take the plea deal. But Judge Bruce Kyle says he’s had more than enough time.

Aiken wasn’t happy with this decision, shaking his head in disapproval.

Lee County Sheriff’s deputies say the man behind a chaotic bank robbery scene in November of 2020 is Glenn Aiken. He is the father of 8-year-old Layla Aiken, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver while at her bus stop in 2019.

The bank robbery arrest report says Aiken handed the bank teller at the MidWestOne Bank in south fort Myers a note. The note read “this is a robbery,” he then collected the money and left.

In court on Tuesday, Aiken’s attorney asked Judge Kyle for more time to consider the plea deal that the state offered him because he just hired a private attorney last week who needs time to catch up.

Judge Bruce Kyle wasn’t having it. “I’m not accepting a negotiated plea after today. It is uh….I’m not saying it is but it almost smacks of gamesmanship when people come in the eve of a trial or the eve of a plea and jump in on a case that’s been going for quite some time and heading in this direction,” Kyle said. “Your client is aware of the offer. The offer has been open for quite some time.”

Aiken took time to discuss the pela deal with his attorney once more and ultimately rejected it. The trial is set for August 2 and is supposed to last only one day.