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St. Pete Police: $50 Bill Used To Buy Smokes Burns Robber

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 7, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - A man already suspected in two bank robberies was arrested after a third Wednesday, and he was tracked down after he used $50 of the loot to buy cigarettes immediately after the crime, police say.

Joseph Williams

Joseph Williams, a 37-year-old transient, was being held today at Pinellas County Jail on two counts of armed bank robbery and one count of bank robbery, computerized court records show.

About 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Williams walked into a Cornerstone Bank at 6600 Central Ave. and asked to use the telephone, said St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman George Kajtsa.

He then walked about in the lobby, was offered and took a cookie and then walked up to a teller and handed her a note demanding money, Kajtsa said. He implied he had a weapon, but none was seen.

He then went to a nearby Walgreens drugstore and used $50 of the money he had just stolen to buy two packs of cigarettes, Kajtsa said. Walgreens then called a taxi for him, Kajtsa said.

As police canvassed the neighborhood after the bank robbery, they found a person who saw Williams enter Walgreens, Kajtsa said. The $50 Williams used to buy the cigarettes was identified as part of the cash taken from the bank, Kajtsa said.

Walgreens then gave police the name of the taxi company called for Williams, and the cab company gave police the address where Williams was taken, Kajtsa said. It was 1717 44th St., where Williams had been staying, Kajtsa said.

Williams was arrested at that address.

About 2:40 p.m. Friday, Williams walked into Colonial Bank at 2646 Fourth St. N. and handed a teller a note demanding money, Kajtsa said. After he got the money, he walked out of the bank, Kajtsa said. No getaway vehicle was seen.

About 1:45 p.m. Jan. 31, he robbed Colonial Bank at 5858 Central Ave., Kajtsa said. As on Friday, he walked in, handed a note to a teller, then fled, Kajtsa said.

In both cases, he implied he had a weapon but showed none, Kajtsa said.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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