Mumbing, bumbling credit union bandit misses marks

Raleigh-area heists undone by failure to communicate

Hank Dudding

Robbery investigators are looking for a mumbling would-be bandit who has a problem getting her message across.

The woman is believed to be responsible for trying to hold up two credit unions Tuesday in the Raleigh area, but she fled empty-handed, one time stumbling outside as her gun clattered to the sidewalk.

The bumbling bandit struck out the first time at the Southern Security Federal Credit Union, 3616 Austin Peay, just before 10 a.m.

In a twist worthy of the 1969 Woody Allen movie "Take the Money and Run," the teller couldn't understand the suspect's mumbling demands.

The suspect then produced a holdup note, which she flung at the teller before running from the building.

In "Take the Money and Run," Allen's character tries to rob a bank but is stymied by his indecipherable handwriting, as tellers ponder whether he has written "gun" or "gub" on his holdup note.

Later Tuesday, a woman arrived at the First South Credit Union, 3731 Austin Peay, at about 1:40 p.m. She fumbled with her purse, then approached the counter after a teller asked several times if she needed help.

The woman handed the teller a note, but the teller retreated when the woman pulled a gun.

The woman then ran from the bank, tumbling on the sidewalk and dropping her weapon before leaving southbound on Austin Peay in a gold, two-door vehicle.

The woman's failure rate belies the norm, said a local FBI spokesman.

"Most bank robbers are successful, in that they get money," said Joel Siskovic of the FBI.

But, he added, "Our solve rate is pretty high. If people paid attention, you'd think (robbing a bank) is the last thing they'd want to do. We tend to catch everybody."

The suspect was described as a black or Hispanic woman, about 5-3 to 5-4 with a thin build. She wore a black hat, a long black leather jacket, black gloves, a red scarf, black shoes and dark pants.