Police in Port Orange, Fla., are looking for a man who robbed a SunTrust Bank on Monday wearing a red Santa Claus hat, a white, long beard and shades before making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The bad Santa carried a gift-wrapped package into the bank at about 3:13 p.m., and passed a note to a teller demanding money. He insinuated that the parcel was harmful, said Assistant Chief of Police, Wayne Miller.
After getting the cash, the suspect left the package on the counter and walked out. He was seen fleeing in a dark-colored vehicle.
The bank was immediately evacuated and the Volusia County bomb squad determined that the package wasn't an explosive device, Miller stated.
The holiday getup is the first one Miller said he's seen a robber wear.
"We usually see costumes worn during Halloween, but I've been here 29 years and I can't recall something like this," he also stated.
Santa-like costumes have been used as holiday disguises in other bank robberies across the country. This month, an armed robber wearing a Santa hat and shades held up a Bank of America in Dundee, Mich., while a man in a dirty gray beard robbed a PNC Bank on Saturday in Laurel, Md.
PNC tellers described him as a criminal Kris Kringle, although local cops said he could have been disguised as someone from the reality show, "Duck Dynasty".
The SunTrust Bank suspect is described as a white male, 6-feet, with a medium build. Anyone with information is asked to call Port Orange detectives at 386-506-5895.