Woman Allegedly Robs Manteca Bank During Test Drive
MANTECA (CBS13) - A woman said she was going to buy a car, but first needed a ride to the bank. Then, suddenly, an elderly man is suspected of being the getaway driver in a bank robbery.
CBS13 sat down with the unsuspecting man that found himself in the center of a bank robbery investigation.
It was a wild ride that began at a Bank of America in downtown Manteca, and ended at the elderly man's home.
"She kind of pulled the top of her purse open, like this and leaned it toward me and said, 'well I got the money," said the man.
It was loot from allegedly robbing the bank.
"When she came out of the bank, I didn't know myself that she robbed the bank," the victim said.
She, police say, is Gail Castle. The woman came knocking on the 83-year-old's door a few weeks ago, wanting to buy his car, which wasn't even for sale.
To seal the deal, Castle asked him to give her a lift to the Bank of America, about two miles away.
"She slipped a note to the teller and told her to give her money, and nobody would get hurt," the elderly man said.
With about $2,000 in hand, the woman jumped in the car and the pair took off. The senior citizen didn't know he was behind the wheel of the accused bank robber's getaway car.
After a short drive, he realized something was wrong.
"She says 'don't open the door, I got a gun,' " he said.
Officers swarmed the car just a few feet from his driveway.
"They had their guns drawn as soon as they got out of the door, automatic shotguns, pistols, rifles," the elderly man said.
With his hands up, the elderly man surrendered.
"I could have got killed right there; they could have shot me," he said.
It didn't take long for police to realize the elderly man was the victim, and they quickly cuffed Castle.
"I think she's sick, I do think she's sick," he said.
Castle goes before a judge Tuesday.
