Pittsburgh man accused of robbing bank day after escaping from halfway house

DORMONT, Pa. — A Pittsburgh man is accused of robbing a bank the day after he escaped from a halfway house.

John Flick, 58, now faces 25 years in prison and a half-a-million-dollar fine after being indicted by a federal grand jury on escape and bank robbery charges.

He’s accused of robbing the Dollar Bank in Dormont, the day after he used the fire escape to leave the Renewal halfway house.

Flick, who reportedly got away with $51, was serving a sentence there for robbing a Brookline bank in 2021.

“I think we need to focus more on rehabilitation more than punishment, but he clearly didn’t want to be rehabilitated,” said Cole Whipkey, a Dollar Bank patron at the store today.

11 Investigates has covered several escape cases from Renewal where convicted felons commit crimes while on the run, including other bank robberies.

A spokesperson for Renewal says, “We continue to follow policies and procedures with individuals approved to be at our facility. Individuals sometimes leave without authorization and we can’t control what they do in the community.”

Renewal President and CEO Doug Williams did an interview with Channel 11 last year, after a similar escape.

“You’re released from incarceration to come into our program to transition yourself back into your normal society and normal life. You can’t do that if you’re coming to alternative housing and all you do is sit in the facility and be fed 3 meals a day,” he said.

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