A man who dressed as Santa Claus decided to rob a bank and threw the stolen cash in the air while shouting ‘Merry Christmas’ at passersby, according to police.
David Wayne Oliver, 65, was arrested at a Starbucks coffee shop after he held up the Academy Bank in Colorado Springs on Monday afternoon, according to a police report.
He is currently being held on a $10,000 bond. Police said the suspect had ‘threatened the use of a weapon’ and left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.
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 gave it back 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 said police believe ‘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, Metro UK reported.
