See, this is how you rob a bank

[Soln]

1) post for doubles on Craiglist
2) wear same outfit as doubles on day of robbery
3) pepper spray (non lethal) guard for loot
4) escape downstream on an innertube (original thesis)

win. just win. 

linky

When police in Monroe responded to the robbery of an armored car guard, they discovered a lot of people wearing shirts similar to the suspect.

On Tuesday, a man shot pepper spray into the face of the guard outside the Bank of America branch on U.S. Route 2, then ran away and forded a stream. He was wearing a long-sleeve blue shirt, camouflage shorts and a blue hat. His nose and mouth were covered with a cloth surgical mask.

He wasn't the only one who preferred blue.

As the robbery unfolded, several men were nearby who had been lured to the scene by a bogus Craigslist ad offering landscaping/cleanup jobs. Many were also wearing long-sleeve blue shirts, but none had masks as the ad specified.

Monroe police have asked FBI experts to determine the author of the Craigslist ad.

Two men who saw the robbery chased the robber, but he "outpaced them," Monroe Police Operations Commander Gary Clopp said. A short time later, another witness saw a man fitting the description of the robber enter Woods Creek just upstream from the Skykomish River.

Despite media reports that the robber made his escape floating down the creek in an inner tube, Clopp said he does not believe that to be the case.

"There was a tube found by the river," Clopp said. "We don't know if it was involved in the crime. Based on where it was sitting, I would venture to guess that there is no way he would have used it." [but they're not sure!]

Clopp said that some parts of Woods Creek could be crossed on foot while other parts are deep enough to require a swim.

Asked if the robber had been watching the bank to determine when an armored car came for a pickup, Clopp said: "It is obvious that some pre-planning took place. There was no question that he had an idea on the timing."

[schad]

he still did it wrong....

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081107-crowdsourcing-craigslist-bank-robber-nabbed-on-dna-evidence.html

[Soln]

God damn it! 

[climbjtree]

I thought that this was always a good robbery. Too bad they fucked up with the license plate.

The actual hit was pretty sweet. The treated the robbery they way we treat 'actions on the objective,' with a timer/recorder and were done in two and a half minutes. We still tell stories about it. Apparently they were doing glass house drills using the bank layout before they did the hit. A glass house drill is where you tape off the floor plan of the building you're going to enter so you can rehearse on something similar beforehand.

The best part about is is that everyone else in their company got two weeks off after it happened. 

[SurfD]

I thought that this was always a good robbery. Too bad they fucked up with the license plate.

The actual hit was pretty sweet. The treated the robbery they way we treat 'actions on the objective,' with a timer/recorder and were done in two and a half minutes. We still tell stories about it. Apparently they were doing glass house drills using the bank layout before they did the hit. A glass house drill is where you tape off the floor plan of the building you're going to enter so you can rehearse on something similar beforehand.

The best part about is is that everyone else in their company got two weeks off after it happened. 

According to the article, the robbery happened a few hours AFTER the company had been issued with 2 weeks time off.  Maybe they just wanted some spending money for vacation?

And yeah, how exactly do you plan something so well, and then screw up as badly as doing the hit in a car that can be tracked back to you.....

[NowhereMan]

I'm guessing it's because very rarely when planning military operations is the fact that your licence plate can be traced to you a factor. Being able to apply a high level of military style planning to a robbery doesn't make one a good criminal.