Robber Writes Off Bank Heist After Teller Rejects Note

A would-be bank robber walked out of a Southeast San Diego bank empty-handed Monday morning because his handwriting was so bad the teller couldn’t read his note demanding money.

The man walked into the Union Bank in the 1600 block of Euclid Avenue shortly after 11 a.m. and wrote a note on a savings slip.

“When he took the note to the teller, she couldn’t read it,” said San Diego police spokesman Bill Robinson.

After persistent questioning by the teller, who was trying to figure out what the man wanted, he gave up and left.

“She intimidated the bank robber to the point where he left the bank,” Robinson said. No one at the bank would comment on the incident.

Last week, another man had tried to rob the bank but he didn’t fare well either because the teller refused to give him any money.

The suspect in Monday’s attempted robbery is described as a Latino man in his late 20s, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and weighing about 145 pounds. He was wearing a navy blue baseball cap with an orange insignia and a peach T-shirt with sunglasses hanging from the collar, Robinson said.

In an unrelated incident, shortly after noon Monday, a man robbed the California Federal Bank in the 3100 block of University Avenue.

The man gave the teller a note written on a withdrawal slip that said: “I have a gun, give me your hundreds, fifties and twenties,” Robinson said.

The teller gave the man $770. No weapon was seen, and the man fled before police arrived.

Police described the man as a Latino in his 40s, unshaven with collar-length wavy hair, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, 145 pounds and wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.