Bank Robber Took The Bus: Cops

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A man accused of holding up a St. Petersburg SunTrust bank on Thursday found out the hard way a bus might not make for the fastest getaway.

According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, officers received a silent alarm from the 3100 Central Ave. SunTrust branch at 2:59 p.m. May 11. While officers were on the way to answer the call, the bank confirmed that a man had come in and passed a note to the teller demanding cash.

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The demands were met, an email from the agency said, and the accused robber left the bank on foot.

Patrol units were the first to arrive on the scene at 3:02 p.m., an email from the agency said. A quick-thinking officer decided to “immediately" check out the PSTA bus terminal located at 3180 Central Ave. In poking around a bus that was getting ready to leave the terminal, she spotted “a subject matching the description of the bank robber seated in the back,” the email said.

Additional officers arrived at the time and boarded the bus. Police say the man on the bus was “identified as the bank robber and taken into custody without incident.” As for the money, police say they found it “stuffed inside the front of his underwear.”

Robert Lee Johnson, 41, was charged in the case.

Further information is not yet available.

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Prior booking photo of Robert Lee Johnson courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department