Bank Robber Caught Sipping a Latte at Starbucks

Heading to Starbucks 25 minutes after robbing a bank to sip a latte and act like nothing happened is probably not the most brilliant of ideas.

But to go to a Starbucks just around the corner from the bank in question and sit there reading a newspaper might be an even worse decision.

A 52-year-old transient from Southern California is suspected of doing exactly that when he allegedly walked into a California Bank and Trust, located at 700 E. El Camino Real in Mountain View, at 9:09 a.m. on Friday and walked away with $1,100 in cash, after threatening a teller with a gun.

A little after 9:30, an officer found a man who matched the description of the robber sitting at a Starbucks around the corner, reading a newspaper.

The facial description matched, but the officer noticed the man was wearing different clothing.

While the officer was waiting for a back up, Lawrence Petitta, the man suspected of robbing the bank, walked into the Starbucks' bathroom to shave his facial hair and change his clothes.

But before Petitta walked out of the restroom, officers had evacuated the coffee chain and took him into custody.

No gun was found on Petitta but the missing $1,100 and clothes were.

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