Bank-Robbing Brother and Sister Were Recruited by Father
Dec. 5, 2013— -- A brother and sister facing years in prison for their involvement in bank robberies with their father claim he recruited them for the crimes, and now he too will go to prison.
Hayden Catt and Abby Catt were just 20 and 18 years old respectively when they went on their first bank heist together with their 51-year-old father Scott Catt in August 2012.
"I made some really bad decisions," Scott Catt told "20/20." "I did something that--did some things I'm just not proud of."
Scott Catt accepted a plea deal today, pleading guilty to aggravated robbery and accepting a sentence of 24 years. He blames all that has happened on his drug and alcohol abuse.
"I'm just offering it up as an explanation to how I got to this point. A lot of bad choices…were made under the influence of alcohol and cocaine," Scott Catt told "20/20." "I'm paying the consequences, and I will pay…My children as well."
Weeks before their father accepted the plea deal, Hayden Catt and Abby Catt were allowed to see each other for the first time in a year.
In an unprecedented gesture, Sheriff Troy Nehls recently allowed ABC News' "20/20" to bring Hayden Catt and Abby Catt together at the Fort Bend County Courthouse in Richmond, Texas. On Nov. 14, 2013, Hayden Catt accepted a plea deal with a ten-year sentence. Abby Catt also accepted a plea deal with a five-year sentence.
"I don't blame you for anything. Nothing," Abby told Hayden during their emotional reunion.
"It's going to be a long...time until I see you," Hayden Catt responded.
With guns drawn and wearing painter uniforms, Hayden Catt and Scott Catt entered the Commerica Bank that was just under a mile from their apartment. Abby Catt waited in the car outside.
"Once we walked into the bank, then it was on. I was running on so much adrenaline and so, so amped that I wasn't even really feeling anything, really," Hayden Catt said.
According to police, Hayden Catt and his father headed straight for the bank teller and then back into the vault.
"I was actually shaking so bad that the employees grabbed the bag and started throwing money in for me, because they couldn't get the money in. I was shaking so bad," said Hayden Catt.
With their garbage bag full of $50,000 in cash, Hayden Catt and Scott Catt sprinted back to the getaway car Abby Catt was driving.
"I'll never forget the feeling, and it was just something you just...want it to be over with," Abby Catt said. "My dad would yell at me and stuff to not drive fast, and, you know, so I didn't."
On Oct. 1, 2012, the family did it again, robbing the First Community Credit Union in Katy, Texas. This time they swapped the painter uniforms for construction vests that they purchased at their local Home Depot, a decision they would later regret.
Life hadn't always been this way for the Catt siblings. While their father was dealing with the death of their mother Beth Catt, who died of breast cancer at age 32, the kids kept it together. They did well in school and for a while were both star swimmers in a town just outside of Portland, Ore. Their father was the proud president of the swim club, when he was sober.
"I was in denial about not needing help, about grieving, about depression, about my ability to raise them by myself," Scott Catt said. "I started drinking heavily."
