Suspect busted for 1-cent bank robbery
(THE SMOKING GUN) – After a man handed a bank teller a note demanding cash, police swooped down on a Chase Bank branch in Florida and arrested the unarmed suspect for robbery. The amount he allegedly sought: One cent.
The unorthodox robbery bid, cops say, occurred Saturday afternoon in Lady Lake, a town about 50 miles north of Orlando. According to an arrest report, Michael Patrick Fleming, 41, walked into the bank, filled out a withdrawal slip, and handed it to a teller. “The defendant was told he could not be given $00.01,” police noted.
After being denied a penny, Fleming, who does not have a Chase account, reportedly told the teller, “So you want me to say the other word?” The teller “was in fear that possible violence was imminent” and “notified law enforcement,” cops say.