TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Bank robbery suspect arrested after dye-pack explosion

ADVERTISEMENT

TBO.com

Published: November 20, 2009

Thomas John Castro

A bank robber suspect who had the misfortune of having the stolen money's dye pack explode in his jacket didn't take long to track down, St. Petersburg police say.

Police found him about 10 hours after the heist, holed up in a room at the Landmark Hotel at 1930 Fourth St. N., police spokesman George Kajtsa said.

When the cops knocked, Thomas John Castro was holding a bag of crack cocaine when he answered the door, Kajtsa said.

Castro, 53, was arrested and charged with armed robbery and possession of cocaine.

Police say Castro went to the Wachovia Bank at 125 Fifth Street S. about 2:28 p.m. Thursday and handed a teller a note. Castro said he had a gun and he would use it if the teller didn't give him money, detectives say.

No weapon was seen. Castro left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash and was spotted later on a public bus, police say. When the red dye pack with the money had exploded inside his jacket, he ran from the bus, witnesses told police.

Castro is being held on $102,000 bail at Pinellas County Jail.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT