Colorado bank robber throws cash in air, shouting 'Merry Christmas'

[December 26, 2019]    By Keith Coffman
 
 DENVER (Reuters) - A man with a white beard was being held on $10,000 bond for allegedly robbing a Colorado bank and throwing the stolen cash into the air while shouting, “Merry Christmas” to passersby, police and local media reported on Tuesday.

David Wayne Oliver, 65, who according to police and media reports was arrested after allegedly robbing a bank in downtown Colorado Springs, then throwing the money into the air and shouting, "Merry Christmas," is pictured in this booking photo released by the Colorado Springs Police Department, December 24, 2019. Colorado Springs Police Department/Handout via REUTERS

David Wayne Oliver, 65, was arrested at a nearby Starbucks coffee shop after he held up the Academy Bank in Colorado Springs on Monday afternoon, according to a police report.

Police said the suspect had "threatened the use of a weapon” and left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.

A police spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment, but Colorado Springs television station KKTV reported that eyewitness Dion Pascale recounted Oliver stepped outside the bank and tossed the money “all over the place.”

“He started throwing money out of the bag" before yelling, "Merry Christmas,” the TV station quoted Pascale as saying.

Pascale said bystanders retrieved some of the money and returned it to the bank as Oliver walked to the Starbucks, sat down and appeared to be waiting for police to arrest him, KKTV reported.

The Denver Post quoted police as saying “thousands of dollars” remained unaccounted for, adding there was no indication Oliver used a weapon in the heist.

Oliver, pictured in police mug shots with gray-and-white hair and a full white beard, is being held at the El Paso County jail and is set to make his first court appearance on Thursday, jail records showed. It was not clear from the records if he has an attorney.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Editing by Steve Gorman and Cynthia Osterman)

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