Stolen cash scattered on U.S. 19 in Clearwater
Courtesy: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
CLEARWATER (FOX 13) - A Clearwater man scattered cash along U.S. Highway 19 on Thursday afternoon after he stole it from a bank, deputies say.
Pinellas County deputies say 37-year-old Anquan Walters walked into Hancock Bank on U.S. Highway 19, wearing a fake beard, gloves, and pantyhose over his head. According to deputies, he jumped over the counter, pulled out a gun, ordered everyone to the ground, and demanded money from a teller.
By the time deputies arrived, Walters was already out the door with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Witnesses told deputies he took off in a 1998 Toyota Camry heading north on U.S. 19. Pinellas Corporal Phillip Love took off after him, driving in his marked Chevy Tahoe, the sheriff's office said.
As Walters fled, deputies say multiple dye packs -- planted in the cash by the bank -- started exploding. Walters began throwing the cash out the window, and onto the highway, deputies explained. When he reached Curlew Road, Walters turned east.
As he approached Countryside Boulevard, he hit a tire-deflation device deputies had deployed, causing him to lose control and crash into two cars that were stopped at the intersection. One of the drivers, Caroline Kahael, of Largo, was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Corporal Love, who was still pursing Walters, was unable to stop before crashing into the disabled Camry driven by Walters. Walters abandoned the Camry and ran toward a nearby apartment complex, where deputies caught up to him and arrested him, they say.
Detectives say his clothes were covered in red dye from the exploding dye packs. Walters was arrested on several charges including armed robbery and leaving the scene of a crash.