Bungling robber

A man suspected of being the hapless bandit who bumbled his way through the robbery of a Grantville bank in a Ronald Reagan mask and a cape has been arrested, police announced yesterday.

During the robbery at the Bank of America at Mission Gorge and Friars roads Aug. 29, the robber's mask made it hard for him to see, his gun got tangled up in his cape and fell to the ground, and his getaway vehicle got boxed in by delivery trucks, forcing him to inch backward and forward to bash his way out.

Then, a short distance away, a dye bomb went off, probably ruining the money.

The robber abandoned his SUV, and police found it with the mask, the gun and a $50 bill inside.

San Diego robbery detectives said they had been investigating the man they arrested, Gerald Jones, 29, of San Diego in relation to other bank robberies in the county.

Police said Jones turned up at UC San Diego on Sept. 12, when a campus police officer checked a car parked in a faculty spot and found the driver was wanted by police for being a parolee at large.

A gun and evidence police say links Jones to some of the robberies was found in his car. Officers took him to federal jail.

A day later, DNA from the mask linked Jones to the Bank of America robbery, police said.

San Diego Police Lt. Lawrence McKinney said the DNA was the strongest evidence that linked the crime to Jones, but the robber's get-up during the robbery helped the investigation.

“Laying low would have been the prudent move, but he didn't do that,” McKinney said. “He did the flamboyant caper, which brought him to the attention of a very good robbery detective.”