When Nancy Henrichsen first heard that Rickey Starks had been arrested for the armed robbery of a Sioux Falls bank earlier this month, she could scarcely believe her ears.

As director of children's ministries at First Lutheran Church, Henrichsen welcomed Starks as a volunteer Sunday school teacher in 2010 and saw him gain the trust of many of those around him.

The notion of that same man storming into Dacotah Bank on East 10th Street, threatening employees with a weapon and demanding money, seemed too outlandish to be true.

"I was as taken aback as I would have been if a pastor had done it, because this was not Rickey's way," says Henrichsen of Starks, a 45-year Centerville native who was indicted on a federal bank robbery charge and faces up to 20 years in prison. "I was hoping it was a case of same name, different person, but I knew it was him when I saw the tape."

For those familiar with Starks' story — a special education student and varsity football player in Centerville who spent time in the Marines, worked as a football official, loved the Sioux Falls Storm and wanted to be a teacher and coach — seeing the tape removed all doubt.

Surveillance video from the bank lobby the morning of March 5 showed a large man in black clothing with a blue and white coat and black ski mask, pointing what turned out to be an Airsoft pellet gun toward bank employees as they placed about $9,000 in a bag.

What gave it away was the walk — a loping, almost staggered stride in baggy jeans that belonged to a man who talked a big game but was generally viewed as harmless and eager to please.

So what was he thinking? What leads a man with just a few speeding tickets on his record decide to remove the license plates from his car, put on a ski mask and rob a bank just a few blocks from his apartment?

Struggles with self-worth after losing a series of jobs and concerns about mounting bills probably played a role. In applying for a court-appointed lawyer, Starks listed $175 in assets, $765 in monthly payments and $4,600 in total debt.

Those who know him well suggest Starks, who received a psychological evaluation while in custody and entered a plea of not guilty, might not have fully grasped the magnitude of his actions.

"He has a slightly different personality, and I believe desperation led to him to that place," says Henrichsen, who visited Starks in the Minnehaha County Jail before he was transferred to the custody of U.S. Marshals. "This was an isolated incident, one that regretfully will change the course of his life."

Paul Struck, a Yankton elementary school principal who taught and coached Starks in Centerville and remains close to his former student, grew emotional when trying to comprehend how someone flips a switch and becomes a bank robber before our eyes.

"The Rickey that I know would never do this," said Struck, who visited Starks in jail and fears for his friend's well-being if he is sent to prison. "Whatever the sentence, people need to consider that he is a kindhearted and conscientious person who served in the military and respects the law. He was trying to do the right thing, and then it all came crashing down."

Finding his way

Struck graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1979 and accepting a job as a fourth-grade teacher in Centerville, a town of about 900 where he coached junior high football, basketball and track.

One of the kids who made an early impression was Starks, an inquisitive third-grader who occasionally took a bus to Vermillion to attend special education classes before Centerville started its own program. If you spent time around a gym or a playing field, as Struck did often, chances were high that you would run into Rickey.

"He loved all kinds of sports, but he was especially passionate about football," Struck says. "He asked me if he could be student manager, basically going to get water and helping out any way he could, and that's what he ended up doing."

Rickey, the youngest of five children raised by Everett and Eula Starks, served as student manager in Centerville from third grade until seventh grade, when he started playing football himself.

That transition was interrupted when the Starks family, which had moved from Arkansas to Centerville eight years before Rickey was born, relocated to Missouri in 1983. Two years later, Everett passed away and the family returned to South Dakota, with Rickey enrolling at Centerville High.

He jumped right back into athletics, helping Struck coach junior high basketball and even calling some of the plays when the games were lopsided. Eventually, Struck became head varsity football coach in 1985 and saw Rickey start on the varsity team as a junior and senior.

Starks had the size and aggressiveness to contribute as a lineman, but playing the strategic position of center proved to be a challenge.

"Our quarterback called all the plays from the line of scrimmage, and Rickey struggled with that," recalls Struck. "He approached me and said, 'Coach, I think you need to have someone else play center. I'm fine just playing defense.' For a high school junior to acknowledge that and offer to make a change for the good of the team, that made an impression on me.'"

Proud of service

As Starks neared the end of his high school stint, he struggled at times with studies but was determined to earn a diploma in order to pursue one of his dreams. He wanted to serve in the U.S. Marines.

"That's what his goal was, and he was so excited about it," says Struck, who became a school counselor in Sheldon, Iowa, after 10 years in Centerville. "Everyone at the high school worked very hard to help Rickey graduate."

He reached his goal by serving in the Marines in Charleston, S.C., and he shared stories of his experience while visiting with Struck and his family in Iowa while on leave. But the dream was cut short when Starks was discharged from military service, a subject he didn't like to discuss.

"He was so proud of being in the Marines, but he never talked about what happened with his discharge and I never brought it up," says Struck.

Starks referred to his release as an unwanted "medical discharge" while sharing memories online after the death of Lt. Col. Gene Sole, whom he had met in Charleston.

"I remember (Sole) coming to my room after I was being medically discharged from the Marines and I was very discouraged and I did not know what the future held for me," wrote Starks. "He gave me some encouraging words, and I will never forget that."

Rickey returned to South Dakota and soon immersed himself in the Sioux Falls sports scene, pursuing his love for football. He considered enrolling at Dakota Wesleyan or the University of Sioux Falls to be part of the football program, but his playing days were over.

Determined to get on the field in some fashion, Starks turned to officiating. He got certified and worked as a high school football referee as early as 1992 and later found himself doing South Dakota Junior Football games at Riverdale Park.

"He had a passion for it," says Paul Ortman, a longtime referee who served as coordinator of officials for the junior football league at that time. "He was someone you didn't want to put onto the field without having an experienced official with him, but I think it was good for him."

Coaches sometimes complained that Starks called more penalties than other officials, but more pressing concerns arose from junior football board members about his involvement in youth sports.

"Because of his personality, there were a few concerns about him being out there with the kids," Ortman says. "He would sometimes talk to the players to find out what they were interested in, and some people had a problem with that. But I always felt like his heart was in the right place, and he enjoyed being out there. It was good for his self-worth and well-being, and he knew the game."

Loving the game

As a devoted follower of football, Starks couldn't get enough. He volunteered his services as a scout for various high school teams, attending games and taking copious notes from the stands.

"I scout old-school style by watching the following week's opponent with my own two eyes in the flesh and writing things down on a legal pad and rewriting," Starks said in Facebook post last April. "I go through more legal pads than a lawyer does."

As a fan, he reserved much of his energy for the Sioux Falls Storm, the indoor football franchise that has claimed eight league championships during the past decade. He attended games with his mother before her death in 2008 and even appeared in a TV commercial as a fan desperately trying to obtain tickets.

"He rarely missed a game, and I bumped into him all the time," says Storm owner Todd Tryon, adding that Starks joined the Tryon Gym fitness chain. "He's got some issues, but we all do. You've got to be in a pretty desperate situation to walk into a bank and steal money, and I didn't think he was capable of that."

Starks did exhibit some odd behavior, such as dressing in full football pads and helmet in the basement of one of the Tryon fitness centers, looking for contact.

"I'd go down there and he'd be hitting the wall, asking people if he could 'long snap' the ball to them," says Tryon, a former Storm player and assistant coach who purchased the team in 2009. "That happened all the time."

Asked whether Starks ever tried to play for the Storm or for any local team, Tryon said: "I'm sure in his mind, he played every weekend."

Leap of faith

In conversations with Struck, his mentor from the Centerville days, Starks expressed a desire to become a teacher and coach.

"He said, 'I'm going to teach for you one day,'" recalls Struck, currently the principal of Lincoln Elementary School in Yankton. "He said that quite often, and I never discouraged him from it."

Starks took classes at Colorado Technical University in Sioux Falls but felt he needed actual teaching experience. That led him to approach Henrichsen about volunteering as a Sunday school "shepherd" at First Lutheran Church.

"My observation was that he was a great person for making a one-on-one connection with the kids," says Henrichsen, adding that Starks mainly worked with fifth-graders. "Frankly, he wasn't the best Bible teacher, but he made up for it in other ways. He would take attendance or develop a quiz if they watched a movie and give it to them the following week."

Starks connected with male students by talking about football but also went beyond that, volunteering to play King Herod in the Christmas pageant and proudly wearing the robe and crown.

"He had a little bit of the acting bug in him, but he wasn't everybody's cup of tea," Henrichsen says. "Not everyone was comfortable with him. He was a big guy who just wanted to talk about sports. He wasn't a parent and didn't have a lot of common ground with everyone, but I liked the fact that we had a male presence who could work with the kids."

When news broke of Starks' arrest, First Lutheran sent a letter to parents informing them what had happened and that Starks had "passed a background check and our staff observed no behavior that concerned us."

Pastor Lars Olson said that most of the reaction from church members has revolved around concern rather than outrage.

"We were worried that there would be backlash, but all of their concern has been for him," Olson says. "Kids in Sunday school made a card for him, and many families are praying for him. The prevailing message is, 'This is a problem, but we're still here for him. God has not abandoned him.'"

Fateful decision

Acting on tips from the surveillance video, police and SWAT teams arrested Starks the night after the robbery after a three-hour standoff outside his apartment on East 11th Street. He showed police where he dumped the clothes used in the robbery and helped them recover most of the stolen money.

Of course, the most pressing question surrounding the first Sioux Falls bank robbery since 2012 is this: Why did Rickey do it?

Starks had trouble holding onto a job recently and might have seen bills mounting, but he committed a violent crime. Even using a pellet gun rather than a pistol, the fear instilled in bank employees that day and the potential for tragedy was real.

As the legal system churns, the next chapter will be a harrowing one for Starks as the consequences of his actions take hold. After some difficult days after his arrest, he was able to meet with visitors and face an uncertain future.

"He told me, 'Mr. Struck, I took responsibility for it and will continue to take responsibility for it,'" says his former teacher and coach. "He knows he made a mistake, and now it's time to see what comes of it."

For those who see Rickey Starks the person and Rickey Starks the bank robber as two separate entities, the next step is the toughest, as real-world repercussions come on the heels of almost surreal behavior.

"Rickey is not a violent person," Struck insists. "He always wants to believe the best in people, and I'm concerned about where he ends up. No matter how this plays out, I'm hoping that people don't take advantage."

Argus Leader Media city columnist Stu Whitney can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @stuwhitney

Quoted:
a special education student and varsity football player in Centerville who spent time in the Marines

How did he get into the marines?

Quoted:
a special education student and varsity football player in Centerville who spent time in the Marines

How did he get into the marines?

Quoted:
a special education student and varsity football player in Centerville who spent time in the Marines

How did he get into the marines?

Quoted:
a special education student and varsity football player in Centerville who spent time in the Marines

How did he get into the marines?

Quoted:
What are the big forearm scabs about?

Quoted:
a special education student and varsity football player in Centerville who spent time in the Marines

How did he get into the marines?

Quoted:
a special education student and varsity football player in Centerville who spent time in the Marines

How did he get into the marines?

Quoted:
Another aspiring athlete who failed.  He didn't reach the notoriety of OJ.

Quoted:
Back in those days kids with learning disabilities were put in special education classes. It doesn't mean he was retarded it could have been ADHD where he couldn't function in a normal class and medication wasn't prescribed.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Quoted:
Clicked on thread expecting to read about violent felon getting ventilated by cops or armed civilians.

Left disappointed.

Quoted:
Why is there a full page puff-piece on an armed robber?