Lowering the Bar, a legal humor blog, has a look at bank robbers who stop for lunch at nearby restaurants. Most recently, there was Henry Elmer, who allegedly robbed a Wells Fargo in Yuma, AZ, then strolled to a pizza joint in the same mini-mall and ordered a beer and a pizza. The local police station was also in the mini-mall, which is how the cops arrived in less than ten minutes — before he’d gotten a chance to eat his pizza. Even better was Lee Harris, accused of a 2003 San Francisco Citibank robbery followed by a fish and red wine lunch at the nearby Le Central Bistro, where he dived into the bathroom to effect a wardrobe change from his desert camous and into an all-black number with a black lady’s hat. He got to eat half his lunch before the police arrived. Also, he is alleged to have shouted “I’m the silver wolf! God bless” as he left the bank.
Anyway, the Silver Wolf was not finished by any means. He, too, visited a nearby restaurant for lunch, although he did at least put two or three blocks between him and the bank. Employees at Le Central Bistro, obviously a French restaurant, took note of him entering because he was wearing desert camouflage fatigues and carrying a bulging duffel bag. (Dress is typically casual in San Francisco, but not that casual.)
Harris ordered smoked salmon and a glass of red wine – again coming under suspicion – and then went to the bathroom. He emerged wearing a black turtleneck, black sunglasses and a woman’s black hat. I actually am not sure whether this would draw any attention in San Francisco, but it didn’t matter because employees had already called 911. In addition to the unusual wine pairing, there was apparently lots of police activity in the area, and so that plus the costume changes seems to have triggered the call.