Bank Robber Declines the Camouflage Approach
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Police are searching for an indiscreetly dressed bank robber who struck twice on the Upper East Side, police officials said.
The suspect, who wore a powder-blue sheepskin bomber cap and a green army jacket, on Tuesday struck at an Apple Bank on 81st Street and First Avenue and, hours later, at a Washington Mutual Bank only a few blocks away, on York Avenue, police said.
Carrying a Whole Foods bag, the suspect walked into the Apple Bank at about 2:05 p.m. and passed one of the tellers a threatening note that demanded money, police said.
The teller at the bank was able to spoil the suspect’s plot by stalling the process long enough that he became scared and fled the bank, a law enforcement source said.
After waiting a few hours, the suspect struck at the Washington Mutual Bank on York Avenue between 80th and 81st streets, police said.
At about 5:40 p.m., the suspect entered the bank wearing the same outfit and passed a note to the teller demanding cash, police said.
This time the ploy worked, and the suspect made off with $3,900 from the bank, the law enforcement source said.
Investigators released security footage of the suspect from the York Avenue bank robbery in the hope that his strange outfit could generate a lead from the public, the source said.
