Worth a laugh.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Scuba%20Heist

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Friday, April 16, 2004 • Last updated 12:52 p.m. PT
Scuba-don't: Police foil bank robber's wet-suited getaway
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Maybe it was the weight belt. Or the air tank and regulator slung over his shoulder. Whatever his excuse, a wet suit-wearing bank robber couldn't make it to the water before being tackled by police.
Police subdued the man Thursday evening on the shore of Budd Inlet after a sweaty quarter-mile dash through the woods, a car chase and crash, and his attempt to sprint into the water while lugging his diving gear and a backpack filled with stolen cash, Olympia police Sgt. Ray Holmes said.
"No truth to the rumor he was running in flippers," police spokesman Tor Bjornstad said, although he noted officers found a pair of fins inside the car after making the arrest.
The pursuit began at a Key Bank branch on the west side of Olympia, the state capital at the southern end of Puget Sound. A man entered the bank at 5 p.m. Thursday, Holmes said, pushed a customer out of the way, pointed an assault rifle at a teller and demanded money.
The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, which the man shoved into the backpack. Police said he was wearing a wet suit under an overcoat or a sweat suit.
Though his approach was innovative, mistakes were made, Holmes said.
"No. 1, when he was leaving the bank he dropped some things, which caused a slight delay," Holmes said. "No. 2, there was quick reporting by witnesses and victims ... and officers were able to set up a real decent area of containment."
Witnesses spotted him several blocks from the bank, running toward the woods behind a restaurant. As police responded, a motorcycle officer saw the man getting into a car parked at Capitol High School, about a quarter-mile from the bank.
The man led police on a two-mile pursuit, then plowed through a chain-link fence and crashed into a tree. After a few minutes of trying to get the car unstuck, he fled wearing a weight belt and toting an air tank and regulator over his shoulder, Bjornstad said.
He managed to get close enough to toss the backpack into the water before officers tackled him on the shore and used an electronic stun gun to halt him, Holmes said. The money was recovered.
Charles E. Coma, 35, of Shelton was arrested for investigation of first-degree robbery and was being held in the Thurston County Jail on Friday. The FBI also is investigating the robbery, Holmes said.
Coma was treated at the scene by Olympia firefighters for minor injuries he suffered in the scuffle with officers and for signs of heat exhaustion, Holmes said. No one else was injured.
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Information from: The Olympian, http://www.theolympian.com