Bank tellers give robber the slips

PINE BLUFF, Ark. -- Police say they aren't sure what charge is appropriate for a man arrested after tellers laughed him out of a bank he apparently tried to rob.

The man entered a branch of the Bank of America about 10 a.m. Monday, with a trash bag in one hand and the other in a pocket, authorities said.

"Put the money in the bag," he demanded.

Instead, one of the two tellers told him the bank was out of money, and the other teller laughed and offered the man deposit slips. She told police that made the intruder angry, and he left without any money in his bag.

Minutes after tellers alerted authorities, a Jefferson County sheriff's deputy picked up Julius Kearney, 23, of Little Rock, as he walked nearby. Kearney was arrested after witnesses in the bank identified him as the man with the trash bag, police said.

No weapon was found, and the man at the bank never threatened anybody, so police are unsure how the case will be handled.

"Technically, it could be robbery, and since it is in a bank, the FBI might also have some regulations about what we can charge him with," said police spokesman Robert Rawlinson.

"Either he'll be (in jail) or we will put him in for mental evaluation," Rawlinson said. "He's not just going to be released."