Yahoo reported the bank robber stopped his escape to ask a construction worker for a cigarette after the October 2013 robbery in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.
The construction worker recalled a man asking for a cigarette. He told police the man matched the description of 38-year-old Paul Carman and said the man seemed to be nervous. Reportedly even after Carman threw out the shirt he was wearing in the bank, he still stopped to try and find a cigarette.
ABC reported the stopping for a cigarette gave police time to find Carman. They then identified him as the man who had handed a note to a teller which said, "This is a robbery. No dye packs. No alarms."
In June of 2014 Carman pleaded guilty. He could have been sentenced to as much as twelve years, according to federal sentencing guidelines.
The lawyer for Carman said his client had a life-long alcohol addiction and argued he should get a shorter sentence.
The Internet is filled with examples of bank robbers who some might say did not act with the greatest amount of intelligence in carrying out their crimes, so Carman is not alone in that regard. One website which gives some examples of some of them is
mybanktracker.com.
In one example, two armed men who wore masks robbed a bank in Houston on March 23, 2011 and took $62,000. Two days later a teller at the bank posted the following message on Facebook, “IM RICH B*TCH." Her boyfriend changed his status to, “WIPE MY TEETH WITH HUNDEREDS.” The police quickly decided the robbery had been an inside job and soon arrested five people.
Another example was when 35-year-old Daniel Rahynes allegedly went into a Pennsylvania Metro Bank, presented two forms of identification and discussed opening an account. He then reportedly, after starting to complete an application form, said he had made a mistake and was there to rob the bank, as he pulled out a gun.
He allegedly left with a small amount of money. He was later arrested after hitting another vehicle with his getaway car.
