OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A bank robber wearing a wetsuit under his clothes tried to make a scuba-diving getaway but was tackled by police before he reached the water, authorities say.
Police subdued the man Thursday on the shore of Budd Inlet after a car chase, a crash and a sweaty quarter-mile dash through the woods, during which he tried to sprint into the water while lugging his diving gear and a backpack filled with the stolen cash, Sgt. Ray Holmes said.
Charles E. Coma, 35, was jailed on suspicion of robbery.
Police said Coma held up a bank Thursday with an assault rifle and fled with an undisclosed amount of money, leading police on a two-mile car chase. After crashing into a tree, he got out and ran, wearing a weight belt with an air tank and regulator slung over his shoulder, police said.
Coma managed to get close enough to toss the backpack into the water before officers tackled him on the shore and used a stun gun to halt him, Holmes said. The money was recovered.
Police found a pair of fins inside the car.
He had gone into the bank with a wetsuit under an overcoat or a sweatsuit, police said.