"Unauthorized Withdrawl"

CW3(ret) US Army · Feb 21, 2015

Was at a pickup bank last Thur about 5:50PM (They close at 6PM) to get my weekly box of halfs. I had given the teller my money & was talking with him. I heard a voice say loudly "Give me the money" 3 times from my right side. I first thought someone who knew the teller had come in & was fooling around. I turned to my right & saw a slender man, about my height (5'8") standing next to me wearing a light gray hooded sweatshirt. He had the hood up & was wearing a ski mask which left only his eyes showing. In his right hand he had a large caliber handgun (not a revolver). The teller slid a bunch of $20 bills thru the glass slot & he told the teller, "give me the $100s". I put my hands up so he could see I had nothing in them. I slowly backed away to a nearby chair & sat down. That's when I saw there was another robber getting money from another teller. He was identically dressed & also had a large caliber handgun. They than ran out the back door that they had entered thru. If they had come in 2 minutes earlier, they might had gotten my $500 as I hadn't given it to the teller yet. After they ran out, all the bank personnel pulled out their cell phones & called 911. I found out later that this branch has been robbed 3 times in the past year. After I told my story to the cops 3 different times they let me leave. Needless to say I didn't get my box that day. I went back Fri & was able to pick up my box than. It was a cube Brinks box. They've been pretty pepe le pew lately. This 1 turned out to be nice. & 40%s (3/67, 3/68 & 1/69). I guess that was to make up for the inconvenience on Thur.
HH
Gary

fistfulladirt · Feb 22, 2015

Glad to hear you made it out safe and sound.

DeepseekerADS · Feb 22, 2015

Well that's a unique CRH story!

jeff of pa · Feb 22, 2015

sounds like fun.

except for having to tell your story 3 times.

You would think they would be able to read what they write down
the first time :thumbsup:

mark1982 · Feb 22, 2015

Wow glad no one got hurt. I was just thinking about this the other day because a bank near me got robbed recently. I gave some thought as to what I would do and to be honest I feel like it's one of those things where until it happens to you ( god for bid) you just don't know. HH

Yinzi50 · Feb 22, 2015

Glad you are safe. I had a few close calls just missed by 30 min to a few hours.

MD'erStEvO · Feb 22, 2015

Chief,

CW2(P) Colburn here.... That was a scary moment I bet.... I can tell you as a concealed carrier, things may have been different. Are you considering it now

Just a question. Thanks for your service my Combat Brethren.... I retire in 2.5 yrs.

MD'erStEvO

maine_Jim · Feb 22, 2015

I've always wondered if I'd get stuck in a bank robbery given the frequency of visits I make but never happened. Sounds like you handled it well.

Maine_Jim

CW3(ret) US Army · Feb 22, 2015

jeff of pa said:
sounds like fun.

except for having to tell your story 3 times.

You would think they would be able to read what they write down
the first time

Trust me it wasn't much fun. The last time I had people pointing guns in my general direction was over 43 years ago in Vietnam. It brought back bad memories & I've had a couple of bad nights. First I told my story to the beat cop. Second I told my story to a detective. Finally I told my story to a robbery detail detective who wrote it down. BTY I had to show my id to all 3 cops.
HH
Gary

norcalsteve · Feb 22, 2015

Gls d you are safe Gary. So many times you hear that no weapon was seen but it seams that these scumbags were packing.
One of my pickup banks was robbed last year an hour after i picked up. The teller told me that it was almost comical the guy was so pathetic. He did not even try to disguise himself. Turned out to be a drug addict that the police knew that lived only a few blocks from the bank. He was picked up right away. No weapon was brandished. The teller told me that after 40 years in the banking business if you are the teller being robbed that is the way you want it to go down.
Sorry to hear the bad memories that were brought up
Thanks for serving.

CW3(ret) US Army · Feb 22, 2015

MD'erStEvO said:
Chief,

CW2(P) Colburn here.... That was a scary moment I bet.... I can tell you as a concealed carrier, things may have been different. Are you considering it now Just a question. Thanks for your service my Combat Brethren.... I retire in 2.5 yrs.

MD'erStEvO

It wasn't very pleasant. The pucker factor was very high for sure. It's been over 43 years since I had people pointing guns in my direction when I was in Vietnam. I did 24 years (1970-1994) 3 years active (70-73) & 21 years in the reserves. I live in NY State where the politicians are more concerned about the rights of criminals than the law abiding public. Also they don't believe in the 2nd amendment here. They do however love the 1st amendment for pornographers. They make it very hard to get a handgun permit to keep a weapon in your home & much harder to get a carry permit. I'm more qualified to handle a weapon than most of the clowns (including some of the cops) who do carry in the state. BTW it wouldn't have made a difference as it turned out there were 2 robbers (1 behind my back who I didn't see until I backed away from the other 1). Good Luck with the rest of your service my brother. I retired as a 250A (Crypto Tech). What's your mos? Also welcome to TNET & this hobby/obsession.
HH
Gary

CW3(ret) US Army · Feb 22, 2015

norcalsteve said:
Gls d you are safe Gary. So many times you hear that no weapon was seen but it seams that these scumbags were packing.
One of my pickup banks was robbed last year an hour after i picked up. The teller told me that it was almost comical the guy was so pathetic. He did not even try to disguise himself. Turned out to be a drug addict that the police knew that lived only a few blocks from the bank. He was picked up right away. No weapon was brandished. The teller told me that after 40 years in the banking business if you are the teller being robbed that is the way you want it to go down.
Sorry to hear the bad memories that were brought up
Thanks for serving.

These 2 guys were pros not amateurs. That was a plus as they weren't interested in the customers but more about getting the money & getting out of there fast. They were both carrying large caliber handguns ( I saw the muzzle of the gun the guy by me had & it was a larger caliber than a .38). After I got home from Vietnam, the country had pretty much abandoned the Vietnam vets & I didn't get any treatment for my ptsd until the late 1980s & early 1990s. I'm going to contact the VA but I don't have much faith they will do anything. I don't trust them at all. Like your posts, keep them coming.
HH
Gary

Masao · Feb 22, 2015

CW3(RET) USARMY said:
Was at a pickup bank last Thur about 5:50PM (They close at 6PM) to get my weekly box of halfs. I had given the teller my money & was talking with him. I heard a voice say loudly "Give me the money" 3 times from my right side. I first thought someone who knew the teller had come in & was fooling around. I turned to my right & saw a slender man, about my height (5'8") standing next to me wearing a light gray hooded sweatshirt. He had the hood up & was wearing a ski mask which left only his eyes showing. In his right hand he had a large caliber handgun (not a revolver). The teller slid a bunch of $20 bills thru the glass slot & he told the teller, "give me the $100s". I put my hands up so he could see I had nothing in them. I slowly backed away to a nearby chair & sat down. That's when I saw there was another robber getting money from another teller. He was identically dressed & also had a large caliber handgun. They than ran out the back door that they had entered thru. If they had come in 2 minutes earlier, they might had gotten my $500 as I hadn't given it to the teller yet. After they ran out, all the bank personnel pulled out their cell phones & called 911. I found out later that this branch has been robbed 3 times in the past year. After I told my story to the cops 3 different times they let me leave. Needless to say I didn't get my box that day. I went back Fri & was able to pick up my box than. It was a cube Brinks box. They've been pretty pepe le pew lately. This 1 turned out to be nice. & 40%s (3/67, 3/68 & 1/69). I guess that was to make up for the inconvenience on Thur.
HH
Gary

Hello Gary,
Glad to hear that you are ok.

Brad

MD'erStEvO · Feb 22, 2015

CW3(RET) USARMY said:
It wasn't very pleasant. The pucker factor was very high for sure. It's been over 43 years since I had people pointing guns in my direction when I was in Vietnam. I did 24 years (1970-1994) 3 years active (70-73) & 21 years in the reserves. I live in NY State where the politicians are more concerned about the rights of criminals than the law abiding public. Also they don't believe in the 2nd amendment here. They do however love the 1st amendment for pornographers. They make it very hard to get a handgun permit to keep a weapon in your home & much harder to get a carry permit. I'm more qualified to handle a weapon than most of the clowns (including some of the cops) who do carry in the state. BTW it wouldn't have made a difference as it turned out there were 2 robbers (1 behind my back who I didn't see until I backed away from the other 1). Good Luck with the rest of your service my brother. I retired as a 250A (Crypto Tech). What's your mos? Also welcome to TNET & this hobby/obsession.
HH
Gary

I'm a 140A Systems tech/Integrator... I agree about two on one scenarios. I spent my first 6 years doing PSD (security) for dignitaries and VIPS.

mark1982 · Feb 22, 2015

I am a conceal carry as well and in situations like this it is best to just let it be. If no one is firing then no one should start firing . No point on starting a gun fight and someone gets killed for a few thousand dollars. Now if they started firing by all means go to town.

BuffaloBoy · Feb 22, 2015

Gary what a crazy story! Sorry to hear that you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Glad to hear you weren't robbed, and more importantly, made it out safe.
HH
Buff

GlenDronach · Feb 22, 2015

mark1982 said:
I am a conceal carry as well and in situations like this it is best to just let it be. If no one is firing then no one should start firing . No point on starting a gun fight and someone gets killed for a few thousand dollars. Now if they started firing by all means go to town.

I agree, someone else's insured money isn't worth your life. Glad you are safe.

FreedomUIC · Feb 23, 2015

accordselux said:
I agree, someone else's insured money isn't worth your life. Glad you are safe.

Nor the hassle that will come with it. I can only say that I am happy that no harm came to you or anybody else in that
bank.

CW3, if you do live in that farce of a state known as NY then you know there are ways around everything! Don't let your life
be in jeopardy because of the idiot's that run your state. I do know some of the secrets the residents there use.

:laughing7:

mountainman 2 · Feb 23, 2015

Scary story Gary but glad you're OK. A few of my regular pickup banks were robbed. Seems to be on the increase lately. You handled your situation well. Can you credit your military experience to that?

nube250 · Feb 23, 2015

Must be the season.. I went to pick up my Saturday box and they close the lobby at 12 but drive thru at 1.. I showed up at 1145 and the door were locked I thought maybe they were just locking up early.. So I went to the drive thru to make an unrelated deposit and they said the lobby is closed indefinitely. They had been robbed by a black female and this was the second or third time this year! I now have to wait 2 weeks and then resume my Saturday pick up at a different branch location.. Next time they should hand the robber a couple boxes of halves to slow them down:-)