You can almost pinpoint the exact moment Rudolph Casillas realized he wasn't going to get the cash. The note ("Give me all the money I have a gun") and firearm (actually a pellet gun purchased a few minutes before, but no one had to know that) seemed to work well enough. But then the teller disappeared into the back, explaining that he'd left his cash drawer at the drive-thru window, and didn't return, leaving Casillas' repeated shouts of "Hey, sir!?" echoing through the lobby of Capital One Bank on Old Denton Road in Carrollton on Saturday.
Casillas left the building empty-handed, but not before the teller had activated the bank's alarm system and scrawled a note explaining the situation, which he pressed against the window for the drive-thru customers to see. Carrollton police were on alert nearby when they spotted Casillas' truck leaving the parking lot.
The would-be bank robber led officers on a one-and-a-half-mile chase, the vehicular portion of which ended when his truck stopped running after slamming into several cars in a Target parking lot.
The basic details of the attempted robbery and subsequent chase were mentioned briefly over the weekend by The Dallas Morning News and CBS 11, but those reports leave out what happened in the store. For that, we turn to a federal criminal complaint filed yesterday against Casillas.
Casillas then fled on foot, removed his shirt, and entered a Target store. While in Target, Casillas put on a shirt from the store, purchased beer and attempted to walk out of the store. [Carrollton Police Department] officers recognized Casillas and took him into custody.
It's worth pausing for a second to mull that one over. Casillas, in the middle of an intense police chase, takes a time out to buy a beer. Maybe he realized he wouldn't be getting another taste of freedom for a long while. Maybe he was thinking something like They'll never suspect the beer guy!
Unfortunately for Casillas, it doesn't look like he ever got to take a sip before he was arrested by Carrollton police. He is slated to remain in federal custody pending trial.
