Bank robber: ‘I need to pay my mortgage'

By Marcus K. Garner

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A man told an Atlanta bank teller he was down on his luck before robbing the bank Thursday afternoon, police said.

Atlanta Police Department Police are looking for a black man in his late 40s or early 50s who walked into the SunTrust Bank at 825 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive carrying a box wrapped in electrical tape. The man handed the teller a note that read, "give me the money ... I need to pay my mortgage ... Merry Christmas," police said.

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A black man in his late 40s or early 50s walked into the SunTrust Bank at 825 Martin Luther King Jr. carrying a box wrapped in electrical tape, Atlanta police spokesman Officer James Polite said.

The man handed the teller a note that read, "give me the money ... I need to pay my mortgage ... Merry Christmas," police said.

He then told the box contained a bomb that he could detonate by cell phone, Polite said.

The man left the bank, running east on foot along King, police said.

Police ask that anyone with information about the robbery call the commercial robbery unit at 404-853-4255.

Police are accepting anonymous tips, and any information leading to an arrest could lead to a reward of up$2,000.