BEAVERTON, Ore. – Police say Knute Falk remembered to bring a loaded gun, a bag to cart off his cash and a bandana to cover his face when he went to rob a Bank of America.
He got away with $188,655 – a good haul for a day’s work for a bank robber, police said.
But he forgot a crucial piece of any heist – a getaway car, parked in close proximity. His own car was several blocks away, police said.
So Falk, 54, demanded car keys from Steven Sturtevant, a bank customer.
“When he took the keys, he said, ‘I will leave them under the front seat,’” a puzzled Sturtevant told The Oregonian newspaper. “He was very polite.”
Only problem was, Falk couldn’t figure out which key opened Sturtevant’s car, according to reports. So he took off the mask and went back into the bank to inquire, Sturtevant said.
Big mistake.
After he finally got the car open, Falk took off, passing Beaverton police officer Sean Todd on the way. Todd received signals from the tracking device planted in the stolen loot and tracked Falk down within minutes.
Falk confessed during a subsequent interview with Beaverton detective Dennis Marley, according to an account filed in federal court.
He has been indicted by a federal grand jury on armed bank robbery and is in a Multnomah County detention facility.
It was his first robbery, he told Marley.
He was out of cash, he said, and he wanted to “rob a bank to get some.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
