Rapid Robber Strikes Two Miami Banks In Minutes
MIAMI (CBS4) - The legendary John Dillinger robbed a lot of banks, but perhaps not with the rapidity displayed by a desperado in downtown Miami Thursday.
The man, wearing a black T-shirt and black ball cap, hit two banks, in the same building, in the space of a few moments.
He first struck the First Bank of Miami at 235 East 1st Street shortly after 9 a.m. The bandit slipped the teller a note demanding all the cash.
"It was terrible," bank employee Ana Hidalgo-Gato told CBS4's Gary Nelson. "You get so nervous."
But bank teller Pedro Puig maintained nerves of steel. With a perfectly straight face, Puig informed the would-be robber that the bank was not yet open for business, so he wouldn't be able to give him any money.
The man, who one investigator said could have helped write the book on stupid, shrugged and walked out, empty handed.
But, he wasn't done.
The robber scurried down the sidewalk to the Regions Bank at 265 East 1st Street, just three doors down in the same building. He handed his demand note to a Regions teller who complied, handing over an undisclosed amount of cash.
The attempted robbery of the first bank and the robbery of the second occurred within two minutes of each other at most.
Passerby Armando Ovis recognized that times are tough, but said this one takes the cake.
"People are desperate for money, but anyways, I think this was a stupid thing to do," Ovis said.
Late in the morning, the First Bank of Miami was open for business and the Regions Bank remained closed as FBI agents interviewed employees and witnesses.
Anyone with information on the rapid robber is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 305-471-TIPS(8477).
