Bizarre Bank Robberies of 2008

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Elsewhere you've read about the major news, newsmakers and security breaches of 2008. Here's a light-hearted look at some of the more strange, bizarre and down-right dumb bank robberies of the past year.

Georgia Robber Caught Waiting For Getaway Bus

The bank robbery went bad, but the getaway was even worse for a Georgia woman in January. After a botched robbery on January 25, Channel Gaskin was caught by police at a nearby bus stop. Gaskin admitted that she robbed the Wachovia Bank in Sandy Springs, but ended up leaving the money behind after a dye pack exploded in the cash, covering her clothes in orange ink.

She changed clothes and left the clothes and money in a local gas station restroom. Police saw her waiting for the bus and arrested her. When asked how she thought she could get away on a public bus, she admitted that she had robbed another Wachovia branch on January 15 in DeKalb County and then hopped on a bus for her getaway.

- local news reports

Port Townsend, WA Bank Robber Nabbed

In a February 25 bank robbery in Port Townsend, WA it didn't take long for police to nab the suspect who had minutes before robbed the downtown Kitsap Bank branch.

The suspect was caught in the apartment building where he lives, a half-block from the bank. The robber was reported seen running from the bank by both the apartment building's manager and maintenance person, along with other witnesses. A local television crew was filming on the same street when the robbery went down, and while the cameras weren't rolling, police responded so quickly that they ran into witnesses pointing to the apartment building where the suspect had run into. Accused in the robbery was Bryant Nance, who lives in the apartment building. No one was injured in the robbery, where about $1,500 was taken. The first 911 call came in even before Nance left the bank. A sharp-eyed office worker walking on the street outside spotted the accused before he entered the bank, stopping to pull pantyhose over his head.

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- Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader

NYPD Rookie Robs Bank

It was like a badly-scripted movie scene when one of New York Police Department's finest robbed a bank in Muhlenberg Township, PA in April. NYPD rookie officer Christian Torres threatened two tellers with a Glock pistol and robbed the bank of $113,000 before the bank opened on April 11. One of the tellers had tripped a silent alarm during the robbery, and police arrived just as Torres pulled out of the parking lot. After a brief chase, police pulled him over and he was identified as the robber. All of the money was recovered, and Torres was suspended without pay from the police department.

-Economics, Banking and Education

Robber Runs Away After Teller Asks for ID

Maybe he was all confused and didn't know if he wanted to rob the bank or just make a withdrawal, but one bank robber ran away with no money after a bungled attempt to rob the American Savings Bank in Honolulu, HI in April.

The robbery attempt started when a man walked up to teller in the bank on April 11 with a note demanding money, and then passed a second note for a withdrawal. The teller told police she took her time, and when the man handed her a withdrawal slip, she asked him for ID. The would-be robber got flustered and fled.

- local news sources

Robber Gives Teller Name and Address

A woman who is accused of robbing two banks in April gave law enforcement some vital clues to her identity when she handed a threatening note to a bank teller. The note had her name and address on the back of it. Law officers believe Maria Garcia wrote the hold-up note on the back of a completed food stamp application moments before she entered a Capital One Bank branch in McAllen, TX, and then made off with an undisclosed amount of money.

Officers tracked Garcia down less than two hours later to the address on the form. She was also linked to a similar robbery in April at another Capital One branch in Mission, TX.

- The Brownsville Herald

Well-Dressed Robber Meets Stubborn Teller

An Oakland, CA robber wasn't successful in getting money from a teller at the Bank of The West branch on June 10. Armed only with a demand note, the well-dressed robber met his match when a teller stubbornly refused to give him any cash.

The dapper robber handed the branch teller a note that read "This is a robbery. I want $20,000."

The unidentified teller refused to hand over any money. The frustrated robber then fled with the note sans money. Police say it appeared the man was not an experienced bank robber.

- United Press International

Gun Beats Bomb in Bank Robbery