Tosa Police Capture Cross-Dressing Bank Robber

WAUWATOSA, WI – It took police all of one minute Friday morning to nab a man who had just robbed the Tri-City Bank.

He wasn't hard to spot. He was the man running madly down the street in a dress.

An alarm came from the bank branch at 10895 Blue Mound Road at 11:12 a.m. and the police dispatch went out at exactly 11:14, Lt. Gerald Witkowski said, seeking a black male in his 50s wearing women's clothing and headed south on foot.

One minute later, the suspect was in custody, Witkowski said.

A patrol officer nearby on Mayfair Road pulled a quick U-turn when he heard the robbery dispatch, and moments after getting onto West Mount Vernon Avenue he saw a subject running up the street in a dress.

The suspect turned up North 110th Street, but the officer easily overtook him and ordered him to stop and go to the ground. The man complied, Witkowski said, and was taken into custody without resistance.

Police will seek charges of armed bank robbery, Witkowski said, because the suspect implied that he had a weapon during the robbery, although it was not immediately certain whether he did have one.

The robbery suspect was also wanted on a felony warrant for violation of parole, Witkowski said. Witkowski was not aware of the suspect's criminal history.

The man made off from the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash, which was recovered, Witkowski said. Other details of the robbery were not yet available.

Police could not say at this point whether the man's attire was an attempted disguise or a fashion choice — but apparently he was accessorized.