Colorado Bank Robber Threw the Cash at Passersby, Shouted Merry Christmas, Then Sat Down at Starbucks

COLORADO SPRINGS — David Wayne Oliver walked out of Academy Bank at 1 South Tejon Street, threw stolen cash at strangers, and yelled « Merry Christmas. » He is 65, white-bearded, and he then sat down at a nearby Starbucks and waited.

Witness Dion Pascale told KKTV the man came out of the bank and threw money « all over the place » before the greeting, tossing bills behind him while someone from inside the branch followed. Bystanders scooped cash off the sidewalk and carried it back to the teller. The Starbucks manager later told The Denver Post that Oliver ordered nothing and that nobody at the tables thought twice until officers arrived. Police picked him up there. Bond was set at $10,000.

Oliver had threatened that he had a weapon. No gun was found. Sgt. Jim Jeffcoat would not confirm the holiday shout or the scattering, only that thousands of dollars were still missing and that some of the take had been recovered. Oliver spent Christmas in the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center. Bank robbery is a serious felony in Colorado’s 4th Judicial District and, because the deposits are FDIC-insured, a routine FBI companion case.

The snowy beard and the sidewalk bills turned him into an accidental Saint Nick on cable and in year-end roundups from CNN to Reuters. The AEGIS Alliance will take the witness over the meme: a man robbed a bank, threw other people’s money in the street, and sat down for coffee. Related: the Florida man who handed out marijuana because it was Christmas and Odd News.