A man suspected of trying to rob a Chamblee bank was caught in a taxi and arrested Tuesday after his getaway plan went awry, police said.
Trevor Gladston Jr., 39, of Atlanta is accused of passing a note to a teller that said, "Give the money now or we start to shoot," at the Wells Fargo Bank in the 5400 block of Peachtree Boulevard around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The suspect left the bank without any money after the teller stepped away from the counter behind its bullet-resistant glass, Chamblee police said.
The perpetrator, described by the teller as a slender black male wearing a blue shirt, glasses, dark pants and black hat and carrying a black cane, fled in a white taxi with green lettering, authorities said.
A taxi matching the description of the getaway vehicle and containing a passenger who matched the suspect's description was spotted by a Chamblee police officer on Chamblee Dunwoody Road near New Peachtree Road, and Gladston was detained.
According to Chamblee police, the taxi driver said she picked up the passenger at the Chamblee MARTA station and transported him round trip to the Wells Fargo.
Upon their return to the MARTA station, the man told the driver he needed to go to the station parking lot to get money out of his car to pay for the trip.
The driver, concerned her passenger was going to skip out without paying, blocked his car with the taxi and got the attention of a MARTA officer. The officer didn't know about the bank robbery and talked Gladston into going back to the bank to withdraw money to pay for the cab ride.
During the apparent return trip, the Chamblee officer saw the taxi.
Several bank employees positively identified Gladston as the man who gave the note to the teller, police said.
Gladston was charged with attempted armed robbery. He was taken to the Chamblee Detention Center and will be transferred Wednesday to the DeKalb County Jail after his first appearance hearing, police said.
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