A longtime volunteer football coach in New London pleaded guilty Friday to robbing the People’s United Bank in Mystic on July 18, a crime he says he committed “in foolish and frantic desperation.”

Jason Piontkowski, 39, of 55 Linden St. will be sentenced Jan. 15 to five years in prison followed by five years of special parole for first-degree robbery. He has been held in lieu of $150,000 at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center since July 31. He had gone to the Stonington Police department two days earlier with his attorney, Ralph U. Bergman, and provided a notarized, typed confession.

With his bills mounting following a lengthy period of unemployment, Piontkowski said he put an old toy gun in his pocket and drove around for a few hours before entering the bank at 12 Roosevelt Ave. and demanding money.

Police said he entered the bank about 11:20 a.m. and ordered the teller to fill a plastic bag with cash, leaving with $10,400. While the bank teller told police the robber displayed a gun, Piontkowski insisted during Friday’s court appearance that he did not display the weapon. Judge Hillary B. Strackbein allowed him to plead guilty under the Alford Doctrine, which indicates he does not agree with the state’s allegations but concedes there is enough evidence to convict him at trial.

Piontkowski served as president of the New London Youth Football League in 2013 and was an assistant coach with the program for several years despite a criminal history that included a 1995 conviction for a drive-by shooting and a 1992 larceny conviction.

Prosecutor David J. Smith said that although Piontkowski has a criminal history, the state’s plea offer took other factors into consideration, including the fact that Piontkowski came forward with a full confession.